Roma, Part 2 (The Vatican to Trastevere)

We spent Friday in Vatican City, which tallied another country to Kelvin's list.

The Vatican's own postal system


We started out at the Musei Vaticani (Vatican Museum), which is definitely one of the world's top museums (and to which advance reservations are a must!). We saw many ancient Greek and Roman statues, most of which were "collected" by Renaissance Popes, as well as Egyptian objects and a 3000-year-old mummy, paintings by Raphael (the favorite artist of Pope Julius II), and then, of course, the Sistine Chapel with Michelangelo's famous Last Judgment and ceiling. Kelvin was THRILLED that we were allowed to take photographs in the museum, and we took a ton!

Raphael's "Transfiguration," his last work, which was actually finished by his pupils when he died in 1520 at the young age of 37.






Mummy! (K now reaaaly wants to go to Egypt!)


Sala Rotunda (Round Room) with bronze Hercules and a large Roman tub


Laocoon, the High Priest of Troy


"Hall of Animals"


(raar!)


Hall of Statues


Michelangelo's Belvedere Torso (remains of Hercules on a lion skin)


Raphael's "The School of Athens," which celebrates Greek philosophers (Plato, Aristotle, Socrates) and includes contemporary artists (including himself, as well as Michelangelo) in the painting!


The last stop on the Vatican Museum tour is the Sistine Chapel, which is the Pope's personal chapel and where new popes are elected (with the black smoke [still deciding]/ white smoke [picked one!] signal system).

Michelangelo initially turned down the project to paint the chapel ceiling, claiming he was more of a sculptor, but was finally talked into it by the Pope. He spent four years (1508-1512), craning his neck, painting nine biblical Genesis stories onto the ceiling, including the most famous, "The Creation of Adam."

Twenty-three years later, he painted the altar scene, "The Last Judgment," a rather dark and complex picture of Judgment Day.



One really could spend all day in the Vatican Museum, but we wanted to move on. After lunch, we visited St. Peter's Square and Basilica.

St. Peter's Square, designed by Bernini, is actually an oval, and is very beautiful. It includes 284 columns topped with 140 saints, and a 90-foot obelisk which was in the original Circus (chariot-racing track). Although we didn't get a glimpse at the Pope (he usually comes by on Wednesdays in his pope-mobile [Laura and I saw him last time!]), we enjoyed the square and the sunshine nonetheless.





Swiss guards guide various checkpoints in their ridiculous costumes.


St. Peter's Basilica lies in the location of the previous Roman chariot racing track of Nero's Circus. When the emperor Constantine brought Christianity to the Roman empire in 312 AD, he built a church on the site of St. Peter's burial grounds, as Peter, Jesus' most revered disciple, was crucified (upside-down as he felt unworthy to be crucified in the same manner as his master) on this site in around 65 AD. The "Old St. Peter's Church" was in ruins by the time of the Renaissance, 1200 years later, and construction on a new and larger church was started in 1506 on the same site.

The interior of the church is also strikingly beautiful, with grand sculptures, a mosaic stone floor, and gilded ceilings with large windows.





Michelangelo's Pieta (Mary cradling her son after his crucifixion), completed when he was just 24, sits near the entrance to the Basilica behind bullet-proof glass.


Kelvin kissed the toe of a statue of St. Peter


The Basilica dome is 430 feet high, and was only partially completed when Michelangelo died in 1564 (but was finished based on his designs).





The gold banner around the base contains quotes from the Bible, in Latin, with every instance of Jesus' words to Peter represented around the church's perimeter.


We decided we would climb the 500+ steps to the top of the cupola, where we could see both the inside of the dome (we stood just above the large lettering), as well as have the best views of Rome from anywhere within a many km radius. Apparently, there are no skyscrapers in Rome as it is prohibited to build anything higher than the Basilica!

Climbing to the top


(almost there!)


View of the altar from the cupola


View of St. Peter's Square from the top of the Basilica




After our spectacular views, we went on a Scavi Tour (underground tour, recommended by Tia), which brought us through the mausoleums of the old church, and to St. Peter's actual tomb and remains. It was really chilling. For some reason, I am slightly obsessed with tombs/cemeteries/[concentration camps] and really enjoyed this tour.

We enjoyed a quiet dinner and wandered the small back streets in the Trastevere area of Rome, south of the Tiber, and then headed back to the hotel.

Here are some fun things we saw on our way back:



Pretty Isola Tiberina, a former spot for a temple dedicated to Aesclepius, the god of medicine, and which now houses a public hospital with a large labor and delivery unit (which we did not tour, however!).


Designated "Dog Parking"-- we miss Pepper (and Elise!)


One more day in Italy!