Sounds like a busy day, right…yeah you’d be correct. I got
up fairly early and walked over to the hop on hop off bus stop by the
Coliseum.
It was a lovely walk and the
Coliseum was not yet the buzzing mob scene it usually becomes later in the day. Food and tacky souvenir vendors were setting
up their stuff and the annoying, ubiquitous selfie stick sellers (yes, that’s
the new thing they’re pushing in tourist traps) hadn’t yet shown up.
It was way early for the bus, so I amused myself by
wandering around Constantine’s Arch and poking my nose up the Via Sacra until
the gate stopped me (Forum not yet open for business either). The bus rolled in around 9:20 and I opted to
sit on top even if it was a bit chilly.
It was a lovely morning as we rolled past the Archbasillica
of St. John Lateran (with its Catholic-ified ancient Egyptian obelisk), the
Jewish quarter, and the Tiber. Across
the river we went
And we were rolling up on St. Peter’s Square!
The bus stop was about a 15 minute walk and I found the
office for my tour ok, but had a surprise.
Apparently, you have to reserve the tour of the Basilica a day in
advance and I had planned for my whole day to be in the Vatican…so change of
plans. I was to go to the Vatican
Museum, but show up tomorrow to enter St. Peter’s at 10:30am. Okey doke, I’m flexible. So, we had a huge group that has to follow a
tiny young Italian lady with a yellow flag on a very brisk 15 minute walk to
the entrance to the museum. She was
tiny, but quick. Everyone had to really
rush to keep up with her!
We got there, got in, and I got my audio guide. I had two goals…the Sistine Chapel and the
Egyptian Collection. Apparently, the
Vatican owns a very nice collection of Ancient Egyptian art. Ostensibly, this is because the museum
focuses on religious art and all Ancient Egyptian art is religious…which is
true. Actually, there is a lot of
Ancient Egyptian art in Rome because Ancient Rome conquered Egypt (remember the
story of Cleopatra…who was Greek, but let’s not let this story get out of hand)
and it seems the Emperors of Rome liked to collect Egyptian Art. So, they did a bit of sacking and
stealing…hence all of the obelisks all over Rome. Much the same for the art collected here.
It seems that the majority of the Vatican Museum is a long
maze with the cheese at the end being the Sistine Chapel. Luckily for me, the first bit of the maze was
Ancient Egyptian art. I’ll try not to
overwhelm you.
Of course, you get a mummy!
They actually had two.
Here’s a lovely example of a funerary mask. Not as glorious as King Tut’s, but very nice.
This is the face bit of a very nice wooden coffin they had
in the collection. Kind of plain, no
gold or paint, but lovely.
And here are my favorites, Shabti figures. They’re meant to accompany the dead into the
underworld and perform any menial tasks the person they’re accompanying are
expected to do.
Some lovely statues of goddesses in black stone.
There were also several examples of how Roman and Egyptian
cultures and religion started to merge.
This is Anubis, the Egyptian god of Death and Medicine. He’s wearing Roman robes and carrying
Mercury’s Caduceus.
I mentioned there was more maze right? There were several sculpture galleries.
Just for comparison, here is Mercury with his Caduceus
A lovely depiction of the goddess Diana
And a creepy bust of the Greek goddess Athena, the eyes
weird me out.
Everyone’s favorite Emperor Claudius (at least your favorite
played by Derek Jacobi in a TV series)
Let’s throw in a couple of Muses for the heck of it. There were a lot of statues…
And for funzies, you’d look up and see stuff like this.
Next up were the Raphael Apartments. These were the old Papal apartments designed
by Raphael.
There were some lovely tapestries too. I was lucky to get this photo as there were
crowds all around every one of them.
There is a famous one where Jesus watches you no matter where you are in
the room, but I couldn't get through the horde.
This is a fresco in the rooms designed by Raphael, but
completed after he died. It was likely
done by one of his students or assistants.
This one was done by Raphael. You can tell, right?
I know Botticelli was involved in part of the fresco
painting in these Renaissance era rooms…I think this is his because those
cherubs just look so…Botticelli.
There were several galleries of contemporary religious art
mixed in here too. I found a couple of
favorites
This is a rare religious subject by a favorite of mine
Vincent Van Gogh. Although he was very
religious himself, he rarely tackled religious subjects. This was painted for his sister.
There were a couple of interesting Salvador Dali paintings,
but this one reminds me a bit of my all time favorite painting of his that I
visited last year in Scotland.
There is a lot of restoration work going on right now in
both Rome and the Vatican. Parts of the
Map room were hidden behind scaffolding.
I didn’t mind.
Finally…The Sistine Chapel!
No photos, which was kind of a bummer…but I can see how lots of people
standing around taking pictures would be distracting. Actually, I know because a bunch of them were
taking pictures anyway. Once the guards
stopped them, then made several loud announcements for silence (a strange
oxymoron) I was able to look around and contemplate Michelangelo’s
masterpiece. His is not the only
artwork represented, as several Renaissance masters are represented, including
Botticelli, but they’re overwhelmed by the ceiling and the Last Judgment.
It’s somehow surprising to see how small the room is and how
high the ceiling. Imagining Michelangelo
dangling on a scaffold that high up is rather daunting. However, it’s just freaking amazing! There is a big patch missing of part of
Noah’s story, but God’s creation of Man is there in all its glory. The colors…oh the COLORS. The Last Judgment was a little busy and dark
for me, but the ceiling took my breath away.
I did get a seat along the side of the chapel and sat awhile listening
to my audio guide to be sure to completely understand all facets of what I was
seeing.
I finally gave my seat to someone and had to leave. There
were a few more galleries of stuff. I
was still floating on a Michelangelo cloud and didn’t see much of it.
I visited the gift shop (yeah, surprise, I know) and the café
(for a cappuccino and a pretty good lemon custardy cake thingy). On my way out, I noticed some gardens, so I
went out to sit for a moment.
And found out that there are papal lemons. I seriously see
lemons all over Italy.
In order to escape the museum, you have to finish the maze,
which is this crazy ramp/staircase down to street level.
I left the Vatican behind until my appointment the next day,
and hopped back on my bus.
This archeological site appears as though out of nowhere in
the middle of a busy business district of Rome.
Our bus drove right by it. I
later found out it is the Curia of Pompey…which is of interest to those of us interested in either or both Ancient Roman History and the plays of Shakespeare. The words “Et tu Brute?” were uttered,
supposedly, by Julius Cesar when he was stabbed to death on this site. Wow! Right?
When I arrived back at the Coliseum stop, I briefly
considered doing my tour there, but it was kinda late. I then had the bright idea to do the Forum
half (both tickets included in my Roma pass, but they’re a package deal and
have to be done on consecutive days).
The Forum is NOT smaller. I was
rushed, but I did what I could.
This is the side of the Temple of Venus and Roma that I did
not get to see, but it loomed above the Via Sacra as I headed toward the
entrance. I did get to see a bunch of other temples though.
The biggest structure in the area I explored was this, the
Temple of Antonius and Faustina.
This is the temple of Romulus, which was more recently used
as a church (that happens a lot to ancient temples and buildings here in Rome). I suppose you noticed the cross at the top of the Temple of Antonius and Faustina too?
You can still go inside the great bronze doors and poke
around the exhibit of statues and check out the frescoes on the wall.
The temple of Vesta, where the Vestal Virgins lived and
tended the flame
There are some gardens behind the temple that were part of
the temple complex
The temple of Saturn must have been enormous, this is what
is left of it.
There were just a bunch of very interesting things going on
at the Forum.
They started chasing us out before I could get anywhere near
Palatine hill. Oh well, next trip to
Rome, I guess.
I walked back toward my apartment and decided to stop to
have a sit down dinner at the corner before I get to my apartment. It was nice, the food was nothing super
special, but the view and atmosphere of dining on a Roman Street was awesome!
Tomorrow St. Peter’s and the Coliseum.
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