Churches, Part II: Locked Out of the Vatican

Friday, May 9th

Today was a new twist: climbing and walking!

We started the day by going to the Vatican Museums, which was crazy! I had no idea all that art was in the Vatican, and I also had no idea that the Vatican was so immense. We seriously started at the beginning of the museums (a good place to start, I think you'll agree) and kept going through room after room of paintings covering the walls and ceiling, thinking that the next room would finally be the Sistine Chapel. But the rooms kept coming and we kept going and still, no Cappella Sistina. There were some incredible paintings, including several famous Raphaels that were very impressive up close. Then, hooray!, we made it to the Sistine Chapel.

For some reason, I expected the chapel itself to be larger, which is strange because it is a huge room. Blame it on movies.

Raphael's School of Athens

Anyway, this is how the chapel experience goes. You walk into the chapel and are immediately struck by how many people are in there. They are standing and staring and chatting and bustling . . . so many people. Then you look up and see the ceiling. Before you pause to enjoy it, however, there is an Italian guard ushering you to the back of the chapel, saying "No stop here, please. Keep moving. No photo, no video. Silence, please." So you keep walking until you can't move anymore because of the crowds, and you pause to look up at the ceiling. Once again, an Italian guard is waving at you to keep moving through to the back of the chapel, or at least stand off to the side to make room for more tourists. All the while he says "No pictures, no video, please. Silence, please. No foto, no video. Silenzio." And all the while people keep chatting and taking photos of the ceiling, though most are at least attempting to be discreet about it.

Except for one man—probably American (just saying)—who has his iPad out and lifts it up to take a picture right in front of the second guard. The guard starts loudly (but still politely) calling out, "No pictures, please. No pictures! No pictures, please!" and the guy just doesn't get it. Eventually, after he took several pictures (which we all, standing behind him, could clearly see), the guy's wife taps him on the shoulder and he finally puts away the iPad and moves on.

So after this little bit of entertainment, we were ready for the real show. Benches line the walls of the chapel so people can sit down as they look up, a really good idea for people's necks. (Even then, the Sistine Chapel probably pays many a chiropractor's salary.) If you are lucky enough to sit on one of the benches, you sit with your head cocked back and look at all the scenes painted above you.

It is truly unbelievable that Michelangelo painted all of it, by himself, free-hand. He did not trace the scenes out beforehand, and he didn't have help from any interns. He got up there and painted everything freely, and still the proportions and details are perfect. Interestingly, one scene (depicting Noah and the flood) features figures that are smaller compared to the ones in the rest of the scenes; this is because it was the first panel Michelangelo painted and when he got down to the chapel floor, he decided the figures were too small and chose to paint the rest much bigger. I couldn't believe I was sitting right underneath The Creation of Adam and other amazing works. For you to really take in everything, you'd have to sit there for hours, because there are so many scenes and details.

We, however, chose not to sit there for hours (considering we had a time limit), so after maybe twenty to thirty minutes of looking at Michelangelo's handiwork a small group (five) of us decided to head for the exit.

Here's the deal: the exit of the Sistine Chapel is different from the exit of the Vatican Museums. Exiting the Sistine Chapel will lead you into other exhibits (something Egyptian and whatnot) and then deposit you at an exit adjacent to the entrance. It was at that exit, on the inside, that we were supposed to meet together as a group in about half an hour.

Our little group of five took the wrong exit. We exited the Sistine Chapel through the "guided tours" exit (apparently even when we saw the signs warning us we thought it was a good idea) which leads outside the Vatican Museums and prohibits re-entry. So we found ourselves outside the building, in the piazza, and knew we had made a mistake. After discussion, we decided (not sure why) that the best thing to do was go all the way around the Vatican Museums (which is huge, remember) and try to get back in and hopefully make it all the way through the museum and back out the correct exit so we could meet our group. Well, it took us around twenty minutes just to walk to the entrance, and we knew we would never make it all the way through in time to meet the group, even if we could convince the museum security to let us back in (not likely). So we found the exit the group would have to eventually come out of (even though it was supposed to meet on the inside) and parked it there for a while. One of us was able to text someone from the group who was inside, so it all worked out in the end. But it was certainly an experience!

The Pietà

inside the Basilica

Once we re-grouped we headed to the piazza (yes, the same one we had just been deposited into half an hour earlier) and got in line to enter St. Peter's Basilica. The line was long and the sun was hot, but we eventually made it inside, and it was so cool. The Basilica is the biggest church I have ever seen . . . so massive that it could swallow a handful of the churches we saw yesterday and still have room for dessert. There was so much art and decoration that I couldn't wrap my head around it all. But the highlight of the Basilica has to be Michelangelo's Pietà. It is remarkable. However, it is pushed far back and closed off by a glass wall because a madman in the 70s took a hammer to it and broke off many pieces. So now the public can no longer get up close to it. It really is a shame, because it distances the viewer from it and diminishes its awe-factor. It is still a truly remarkable piece of art, regardless.

the curved walls
(photo was taken head on)

After wandering the Basilica it was time to climb the dome! Apparently you can do that! Word to the claustrophobic: do not attempt this climb, unless you are only slightly claustrophobic (like me) or know how to harness your irrational fears for the sake of having a great view of Rome. Either way.

Peter, Kate, Lauren, Rebeca

The climb to the top of the dome of the Basilica involves many winding and extremely narrow staircases where only one person can fit through and the ceiling above you is curved inward (because of the dome shape), so if you're tall you have to lean to the side the whole way up. Once you get to the top and outside, however, it is a gorgeous 360-degree view of Rome and a fabulous breeze to blow away the stuffiness of the inside. It was definitely worth the climb (a total of over 1100 steps, I'm pretty sure), but it isn't necessarily something I need to see again, unless I'm showing it to someone.

We made it back down after taking in the view for a few minutes and decided to get food. Once again we found a local restaurant with great food and good prices, and then of course (is this even a question anymore?) got gelato before heading back to our apartments.

Later on we went to a GANS fireside (GANS= giovani adulti non sposati, basically meaning "singles' ward") and then my new friend Amy—shoutout to Kelli Canady who has been her roommate for three years!—and I left with Cinzia and a couple of guys from our group to go home because we were so exhausted. Amy and I started to watch Gladiator (RUSSELL CROWE! IN ROME!) once we made it back, but it got late so we figured we would watch it tomorrow.

And that is all for the day! Sorry for the lengthiness.

Until tomorrow (or whenever I blog next),
Ciao!