Italy - The Vatican

At St. Peters Square

After a lengthy absence from blogging, we return to our ventures in Italy.  Following our three days in Tuscany we took the train south to Rome, where our cab ride from the train station to the hotel gave us an exhilarating introduction to the city.  While I've included photo's of our train journey, there are no photo's of the cab ride.  That's because we were all hanging on for dear life.  The driver was doing 80-90 kmh down busy city streets.  Most of the time we were in the correct lane, but that law was not consistently obeyed.  It was quite an adventure.

The central Italian countryside seen from the train.  

The nice thing about Rome is that the center of the city is compact so that you can walk everywhere (thereby avoiding additional cab rides).  Our hotel was in the Campo de Fiori district.  It was a sunny beautiful day on our arrival so we spent some time on the rooftop terrace.

The view of Monument d' Vittario Emanuele II from the hotel terrace.  

Another view from the terrace.  

The next morning it was up bright and early for a tour of the Vatican.  Total population of this city-state is less than 1000 people.  Wealth per capita is probably close to infinity.  Visitors per capita is probably close to that value as well.  We were there after Easter and there were lots of people. I can not imagine what it must be like in the summer.  We hired a guide for several reasons.  First, you can bypass the tremendous lines to enter the Vatican museums and Sistene Chapel.  Second, guides usually set a nice pace when going through museums, providing a compromise between Grant's sprint from entrance to exit and his parents "read every placard" pace.

Those waiting in line for the museum were never far from refreshments. 

Our visit began by touring the Vatican Museums.  We probably spent 90 minutes going through part of the museums, but there was at least that much that we didn't see.  From there it was on to the Sistine Chapel.  This building was designed to match the proportions of Solomon's Temple and is the home of papal conclaves.

A hall in the museum

Ornate ceilings

The hall of tapestries was amazing

The ceiling in the hall of tapestries

In the early 1500's a crack developed in the ceiling of the Sistene Chapel.  After some patching methods failed to work, the pope summoned Michelangelo to cover it with a fresco, 135' x 45'.  Per the guide, Michelangelo was a sculptor first and considered painting for sissies.  However, the pope strong armed him into painting the chapel ceiling, an effort that took four years and was accomplished by laying on his back on a scaffold he designed himself.  The nine panels tell the story of Genesis, beginning with the creation story, moving to Adam and Eve and finishing with Noah.   The frescos were restored in the 80's.  Several small areas were not touched -- the difference between restored and unrestored is remarkable.  The untouched frescos are very dark and grimy.  Since the restoration, photography is not allowed in the Chapel so my photos are courtesy of the internet.

Part of the Sistene Chapel ceiling, with the center panel showing Adam receiving life from God.  

The Last Judgement Altar

The Sistene Chapel without people in it.  

St. Peter's Basilica is the largest Christian church in the world.  The original structure was built over the supposed tomb of St. Peter in 319 AD.  It lasted over a thousand years before essentially collapsing.  The pope commissioned the new St. Peters in 1506, but it wasn't completed until 1626.  Sounds like one of my construction projects.

The dome of St. Peters Basilica

Lines to get into St. Peters

St. Peters Square can hold 400,000 people.  

Inside St. Peters Basilica

Michelangelo's Pieta' -- Mary holding her son, Jesus, after his death -- was done when the artist was 24 years old 

There are several preserved popes on display in St. Peters. 

Michelangelo was also an architect.  He designed the dome of St. Peters.  

The Swiss Guard

We had a late lunch at an outdoor cafe

Lori ordered a fried artichoke

On the walk back to the hotel we stopped at the Pantheon.  It's over 2000 years old and remains the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome.  

The entrance to the Pantheon

A common Roman site...a pigeon on top of a statue

Castel Sant' Angelo, originally built as a tomb for Hadrian in 135 A.D.  It is linked to the Vatican by a  passageway which is used in Dan Brown's Angels and Demons

Everywhere there are squares, fountains and, on sunny days, people.