Vatican
Italy, Greece & Montenegro Diary : Day 14 - 15th May 2018
The Day started with great excitement. Our schedule consisted of a half day tour of the Vatican musuems. The internet helped us tick the TOP 10 “TO DOs” in Vatican in that limited time. This included all the Vatican museums, The Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica , St. Peter’s Square and a visit to the Castel Sant Angelo (Read Rome 1 for the story).
After a good home made breakfast, we set out to visit the smallest country in the world. Home to the Pope and some unbeatable architecture, the Vatican is the only one to be considered as a UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE COUNTRY. It amazed us that despite being such a small drop in the Ocean, it has its own football team, an own army and records itself as the a nation with highest wine consumption.
First, a short walk to Re DI ROMA metro station , then a train to OTTAVIANO station, continued by a short walk to the Vatican Museums. The Museums stand guarded by a high fortress like wall that runs a long length. We had booked our tickets online much in advance and therefore joined the queue , produced our tickets to gain access.
The tour begins with visits to various museums that one can choose to enter depending on their interest. If you are a history lover, you are going to need more than one whole day to just understand and appreciate all that is stored in here. I can’t even recollect how we managed to just scroll through all of it in half a day. At the very beginning was the PIETA sculpted by MICHELANGELO himself. We had heard a lot about this creation until then. Sitting with its back facing the wall is this famous sculpture displaying Lord Jesus lying on the lap of Mother Mary immediately after his crucification. The word Pieta means "Pity" , where Mother Mary's pitiful condition of having to hold her dead son in her arms is beautifully depicted.
We moved from room to room adoring the pieces of art that was displayed. Each piece was unique by itself and oozed the glory of the period. Paintings, Frescoes, Relief , sculptures and many more artworks were displayed. Home to at least 70000 pieces of art work , the museums in the Vatican today attract the most number of visitors from all over the world. The collections include treasures from Egypt, Greece to Rome, ranging from the early Medieval, the Renaissance to the contemporary .
All these treasures are split and displayed in various Galleries - The Tapestry Gallery, The new wing Gallery, Lapidaria Gallery, Candelabra Gallery to name a few. The paintings poured out stories from the Bible. I found the Gallery of maps quite interesting. It was great to see age old maps and how places were depicted in ancient times.
As we moved from gallery to gallery, each one seemed to out beat the other. The collection of relief, sculptures, bust and mosaic work from the Roman period was mind blowing. The clothes and expressions of human figures were all etched to perfection. After a beautiful display of the collections belonging to the Roman era, we entered the Egyptian museum. There was a detailed description of the process of embalming during ancient Egyptian times. The mummy of Amenirdis along with its originally painted wooden lid is on display. The story behind mummification and its detailed process was very interesting to read. There were nearly nine rooms which we passed one after another. Each one of them was equally interesting.
It was just sad that we didn't have enough time to spend an entire day here. The pots and pans used by an entire era were on display. The museum is an absolute encyclopaedia offering details of every piece that is on display. We reached a room displaying various sculptures. The emotions depicted on each piece of stone here is commendable. Crossing many hallways we reached the SISTINE CHAPEL.
The corridor leading to the Chapel was mind-blowing. I have heard of this famous corridor, the ceiling of which is crafted by Michelangelo himself but experiencing it in person was something out of the ordinary. An array of intricate murals, reliefs, sculpted walls, paintings and decorations adorn the entire corridor. It was more like a ROYAL welcome to walk through the place to get to the Chapel. It just feels like an ancient fairy land where Gods and Goddesses, messengers & angels simply seem to reach out to you amidst the crowd around you. There's an entire explanation on what the paintings on this ceiling actually depict. You can read about it in detail on this site - https://www.vaticancitytours.it/blog/what-do-the-paintings-in-the-sistine-chapel-mean/
It was actually quite funny. There was hardly anyone looking at the floor while moving forward. The entire crowd had their heads up staring at the ceiling of about 12000 odd square feet. This is regarded as Michelangelo's best work of art. The creation, however, took a toll on his health. It was his toughest four years, where he literally stood on a wooden stool bending his neck backward to make his paintings on the ceiling, with the residue occasionally falling into his eye and leading to a permanent damage of his vision, while he also strained his back and neck. It is said that he never really recovered from this condition. Slowly and steadily we reached the inner sanctum of the Chapel
Though the ceiling is always the one that is spoken of, the life size paintings inside the chapel is sure to leave you equally stunned. The story of Christ and Moses by Botticelli is one such painting. I was really awe struck by each of the paintings . The outer appearance of the museum gives no hint of the treasure it stores. We learnt that the building was initially built for defence purposes. After listening to a narrative by a priest inside the Chapel, we made our way out. The inner exit takes you directly to the St. Peter's square from where it is easy to access the biggest Basilica in the world. It took nearly 100 odd years to build this Basilica. Michelangelo was one of the 5 architects behind its construction. The structure is the biggest Church in the world. It gives you goose bumps to just stand next to it. We had to queue up for a bit to get inside. The church is visited by millions all over the world and its interiors is more like a museum. One can get lost inside due to its sheer size and maze like layout.
Housing the tallest dome on earth the Basilica actually stands over the tomb of St. Peter. The structure of it was inspired by the Pantheon temple. Known for its beautifully sculpted interiors mostly in bronze, it is sure to blow your mind away. We spent hours gazing at the sculpted walls and pillars. The ceiling is presents one of the most exquisite works of art ever. Standing on a ground that was laid nearly 400 years ago takes you back in time. Its sheer maintenance must be costing a fortune. No amount of photography could do any justice. After walking around the interiors and making memories with our camera to our hearts content, we stepped out to get to the square. We were thrilled to spot sculptures all along the roof line. The square is very well organised with public rest rooms and lined up with steel barricades that would be put to use on a highly crowded day. The pope generally addresses a large crowd here. We sat beside one of the two fountains to enjoy unparalleled views. We then walked to the CASTEL St. Angelo. (for further story read ROME 1)