Rome - July 6, 2011: Vatican City-The Sistine Chapel & St. Peter's Basilica

Early day to make it to Vatican City on time for our 10:30AM appointment. It's sunny and hot and humid. We had to change buses and had a crowding situation. First, all 4 of us made it on the connecting (#64) bus, but the doors wouldn’t shut so Sarah hopped off, which meant we all hopped off. Then the next bus we all jumped on again, but Sarah didn’t make it on or something (she was at the front, Cat, Gab and I were in the middle), because again, it was crowded. The last thing she said is “I’ll meet you at the stop.” A nice Italian man told me which stop to get off for the Vatican, all in ‘Italian Sign Language’ – which, if you have Italian friends, you know what that is. Basically I interpreted a hand motion making hill shape/oval to indicate “next stop” and the hand flat up to say “don’t get off at this stop.” He was such a sweet elderly man. I thanked him profusely.

So the three of us got off at the Vatican stop, and waited for Sarah. And waited. Alas! The 64 bus appeared. Sadness, Sarah wasn’t on it. Now we were stressing a bit. Hmmm…what happened? We walked to a nearby fountain (they’re everywhere, and the water is excellent). A beggar woman and her waif sat, making no pleas, near the fountain, eating crackers dipped in water.

Crazed tourist just outside the Vatican walls.

The next 64 bus contained the missing Sarah, and now we were headed for the Vatican. Oh, glory, it was right around the corner. Or so I thought. What happens is, you enter St. Peter’s Square…then walk about a gazillion miles outside and around the Vatican. It is a high, fortified stone or brick wall, and the blazing sun bouncing off that and onto you is blistering. And the walk around the Vatican is crazy looooong. We were a little late, but were able to get in okay.

Here’s the deal about seeing the Sistine Chapel. When you first enter, it’s very museumy just like any high end museum you’ve ever been in. Then you follow a walk that is about 4 miles long filled with modern and early works in segregated little alcoves. It’s actually pretty fascinating and wonderful. But the masses are really intent on seeing the Sistine Chapel, so nearly everyone is just bypassing the artwork. We stopped on occasion to view the works. There are paintings by many of the famous artists you’ve heard of or read about. So sorry, but the names escape me due to tiredness. There is also a long hallway of ornately decorated wall art and ceiling art, some so stunning that it just doesn’t seem possible. But let me just skip, for now, to the Sistine Chapel. It was larger than I thought, and the ceiling was higher than I had imagined. Everything I read about didn’t prepare me for what I saw. Tears filled my eyes when I realized exactly what I was looking at, and how I had longed to see this site for so many years. What I hadn’t expected, was the scale of the images on the ceiling. They were enormous, and the colors so bright and rich. Please note you were not suppose to take photos in this place due to an agreement with the restoration company that restored the ceiling artwork. Every few minutes guards would loudly “shush” everyone, “shhhhhhhhh…….shhhhhhhhhh…” then say, “si…len….ci….ooooo….please keeeep the quiet.” At one point a very tall tourist with an accent told Gaby she was not to take pictures. I told Gaby to move away from her.

Sometimes people were taken aside by the guards and their cameras given a review for unauthorized snapped shots. Indeed, we say this happen quite a bit. We found seats at the side wall and sat with the binoculars and gazed upward. Every bit of Michelangelo’s work had meaning and context. We sat there a good long time. We didn’t really want to go, but knew we had more to do, so somehow we managed to leave the chapel. 

I did NOT take this photo in the Sistine Chapel. Please note you make click on any photo to see it larger.

The Last Judgement - by you know, Michelangelo.

The Sibyll.

We made it out the chapel, down a long outdoor corridor, toward St. Peter’s Basilica via a shortcut. It was for groups and individuals (according to Rick Steves book). Later I thought that maybe we should’ve gone the long way out, but we were getting pretty spent by this time. Once inside St. Peter’s, we headed straight for the Piéta. There it was, behind a large wall of glass in an alcove. It seemed so dramatic and yet serene at the same time. It brought tears to my eyes. It was near the front of the basilica. We walked all around and were stunned to see so many huge sculptures of saints and other things, and the huge altar (which I believe was designed by Bernini). We also so the popes’ crypts. That was less interesting. I entered one of the small areas for prayers to burn candles for some friends, but there was no place to do that. So I prayed instead. It was so calming.

Leaving the Basilica, we entered back into the square…then we headed back to our apartment via bus, retracing our original route. There is so much more to the Vatican Museums, but I cannot imagine how anyone can see all there is to see in one day.

Pieta by Michelangelo in St. Peter's Basilica.

St. Peter's Basilica.

St. Peter's Basilica.

St. Peter's Basilica.

One of the Pope's who has passed on.

Back in our apartment we were again exhausted. I cooked the last of the steaks, heated up the green beans from the previous night, and made spaghetti. We ate well and slept well.