9/20 Sat – Rome
Breakfast is served in a different area than last time – ground floor up by the door. The man who is on during the day is the owner and his wife assists in the breakfast room. He started years ago in this hotel with his brother, who later opened another hotel down the way so he has this to himself. Very nice people.
Off we go to meet the Angels at 9 am. We decide to catch a cab as it is a very long way and the bus might take too long. Lots to see on the way, ie the enormous Victor Emanuel monument to past heroes, the Parthenon, old vatican Castel Saint Angelo – the disappointing Tiber River (from high school history I thought it was supposed to be large). Boom we arrive in plenty of time. We have about 30 in the group so they split us in two. We wind up with the younger group led by the cutest little gal, an art major (perfect for what we are about to see) from England, who is engaged to one of the Vatican police.
First we walk a number of blocks around the Vatican wall passing the great long line of those without reservations (thank goodness). This all takes about 30 minutes so you can imagine what it is like the other way – sometimes you can be in line 3 hours.
Our guide is pointiing out all the time, we pass the Vatican guards in their special outfits finally arrive to go thru security – a very complicated process. We start our tour in the Egypt and Mesopotamias courtyard; then the Pio Clementino collection of Greek and Roman statues (some of the best in captivity from lst century BC). The next hall contains the Belvedere Torso (2,000 yrs old) that had a great influence on Michaelangelo ; two 4th C porphyry (a very hard stone requiring a special tempering of metal) sarcophagi made for Constantine’s mother and daughter, both quarried & worked in Egypt.
Next is the Tapestry room (where the eyes follow you), lots of old maps etc; followed by the Raphael rooms; frescoes (fresh in Italian) where color is mixed with wet plaster so when the plaster dries the painting is actually part of the wall. Requires a lot of speed and accuracy.
We now wind slowly down many stairs to the Sistine Chapel (pope’s personal) where Michaelangelo’s pictorial culmination of the Renaissance is on the ceiling showing the story of creation. Done when he was 33 and took four years to complete. Behind the altar is Michaelangelo’s Last Judgment painted much later. The restoration (very controversial) reveals the bright original colors of the master’s work. Incredibly beautiful. No photos allowed but no photo can do it justice. It has to be seen.
It is now 1:pm – 4 hours later and our tour guide leaves us. We decide not to eat now but carry on through St Peter’s Basilica. Huge white columns in front date from the 4th C; It can accommodate 60,000 worshippers on its 6 acres, so large that birds roost in here. The main altar sits directly over St. Peter’s tomb and under Bernini’s 7 story bronze canopy. Michaelangelo’s (age 25) “Pieta”, now behind bullet proof glass, is a wonder to see – incredibly beautiful. (A Pieta is a work that represents Mary with the body if Christtaken down from the cross).
The “Dome” Michaelangelo’s last work, is the biggest anywhere, and taller than a football field is long. You can climb to it but since the last 323 steps are very claustrophobic and anyway we have no energy.
We’re done, but first we have to get Vatican stamps for Dolores. We find the Vatican post office, acquire our 12 stamps and head for one of the hop on, hop off buses they have running around the city. This one is two decker but we opt to collapse down below and view our journey back to the hotel from there, which is just fine as we are too tired to even turn our heads.
Tonight we decide to find a different ristorante so we wander the neighborhood looking for something which takes us into a kind of seedy street and nothing that looks up our alley. Earlier when we got off the bus I had seen an interesting place up a little alley about half a block from our hotel. We opted to eat inside and it was perfect. Like an old fashioned pub with a few locals having a beer. Beautiful wood finished walls and ceiling with plenty of old pictures, beer steins etc. The food was really good and of course accommpanied with wine. Boy between the wine or the gelato in Italy I can’t decide which I liked more. To bed for tomorrow we have made arrangements to again go with the Irish Angels to tour the Colosseum and Forum.
Tags: Travel
sylviaknight