The first thing I saw on our drive was a parking sign with Mama's name on it. I asked Paolo about it and he told me that Cornelia was an old royal roman name. Goodness, don't tell Mom!
Vatican City is surrounded by a fortress - historically this protected the pope from his enemies.
We met our tour guide Donatella and began our whisper tour. How funny! We wore an earpiece in only one ear as she described everything we saw. Very crazy to hear an Italian voice in one ear and the rest of the world in the other! It was certainly hard to concentrate.
This is Donatella. We received a lesson on the Sistine Chapel so we'd know what we were looking at once we got there.
Entering the Museum of the Vatican.
Before we began our tour, we walked outside and stood in awe of St. Peter's Basilica. It's seriously HUGE and is incredible to see in person.
All our friends are in the background! We could have spent a lot more time here, but it was time to begin the tour. We walked down long hallways with statues, art, tapestries, and maps on either side of us. We stared at ceilings thinking that they were three dimensional, but really only appeared so due to the insane painting skills of someone long ago. It was cool. I didn't really hear a thing that was said to me in the whisper earpiece. More than likely, I was probably talking to the people around me, getting to know my new groupies. Typical.
Statues. The thing with all the boobies is the Goddess of Fertility.
A statue of Mercury holding the caduceus with a fig leaf placed over the genitalia. Most artwork and statues showed men in the nude, but some popes found this offensive and later had fig leaves added to the statues. I'm sure some sculpters are turning over in their graves!
Marble floor? The color was startling.
Amazing paintings on the ceilings!
More ceiling. The color was so vibrant. I can't remember if was the image above or below that had the feaux 3dimensional ceiling. They both look that way now!
For some reason, I think it was this one.
Hall of tapestries. This hallway was super dark. I had to put my camera on unreal settings, breathe slowly and concentrate greatly to get this shot. So glad my camera kicks butt! This is the murder of Julius Caesar. Can't wait to show my students, but they probably won't think it is as cool.
Walls of maps. Italia.
A mini dome. Right before we entered the Sistine Chapel. I'm not sure I knew what to expect of it. We held our breath hoping we'd be able to use our cameras. I think we only had 15 minutes to take in everything that we were seeing. Not nearly enough time.
Michaelangelo's The Last Judgement. The museum's website gives this explanation: the painting is centred around the dominant figure of Christ, captured in the moment preceding that when the verdict of the Last Judgement is uttered (Matthew 25:31-46). His calm imperious gesture seems to both command attention and placate the surrounding agitation. It starts a wide slow rotary movement in which all the figures are involved. Excluded are the two upper lunettes with groups of angels bearing in flight the symbols of the Passion (on the left the Cross, the nails and the crown of thorns; on the right the column of the scourging, the stairs and the spear with the sponge soaked in vinegar). Next to Christ is the Virgin, who turns her head in a gesture of resignation: in fact she can no longer intervene in the decision, but only await the result of the Judgement. The Saints and the Elect, arranged around Christ and the Virgin, also anxiously await the verdict. Some of them can be easily recognized: St Peter with the two keys, St Laurence with the gridiron, St Bartholomew with his own skin which is usually recognized as being a self-portrait of Michelangelo, St Catherine of Alexandria with the cogwheel and St Sebastian kneeling holding the arrows. In the centre of the lower section are the angels of the Apocalypse who are wakening the dead to the sound of long trumpets. On the left the risen recover their bodies as they ascend towards heaven (Resurrection of the flesh), on the right angels and devils fight over making the damned fall down to hell. Finally, at the bottom Charon with his oars, together with his devils, makes the damned get out of his boat to lead them before the infernal judge Minos, whose body is wrapped in the coils of the serpent. BREATHTAKING!
This is St. Bartholomew.
Part of the ceiling... there was no way I could fit it all in one frame!
The central part of the ceiling shows nine stories of the Genesis, divided into groups of three, relative to the origin of the universe, of man and of evil.
Creation of Adam.
Original Sin and the Banishment from the Garden of Eden
An entire wall shows 8 panels of the story of Moses. This is the breaking of the tablets that the 10 Commandments were written on.
St. Peter's Square.
The balcony from which the Pope addresses his people. We then entered St. Peter's Basilica.
Really beautiful and most impressive! This cathedral has the largest interior and holds over 60,000 people.
The letters you see are 7 feet tall!
The Pieta by Michaelangelo. It depicts Jesus in the lap of his mother after he was crucified.
The baldacchino.
The Confessio.
St. Peter...people stood in line to rub his foot for good fortune.
Since St. Peter was buried below the altar, many popes have chosen to be buried there as well. It's a little odd to look at really old dead bodies.
A statue of the same man.
People were also buried below us.
The light flowing in from the windows was incredible!
The magnificent dome from inside St. Peter's Basilica.
After a quick 30 minutes inside the cathedral, we walked around St. Peter's square before heading to lunch.
The Pope was to have an audience the following day. He addresses the public from this platform.
The Pope's apartment is on the top floor, 2nd from the right.
So far this day is terrific...after lunch there's more to come!
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