Rome, Aug. 11

Aug. 11, 2012
Rome, Italy
Our last day in Rome, and our tour company saved the best for the last by finishing up with a visit to the Vatican City.
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What a place! All the pomp, wealth, mystery, and magnificence of the Roman Catholic religion are concentrated here, and it’s hard to realize that there are actually some Catholic religious orders that take vows of poverty.

We began our tour in the Pinecone Courtyard (named for its sculpture of a pinecone, which represents the pineal gland, a symbol of eternal life), then walked through the Vatican Museums on our way to the Sistine Chapel as our guide, Alberto, explained some of the most important pieces of artwork we were seeing. (Alberto was a little long-winded, but very well-informed about the Vatican as well as very humorous, which made up for it.)

The Gallery of the Tapestries was especially fascinating, with its hand-woven 15th-century Flemish tapestries lining the walls. (The Resurrection Tapestry in this gallery has an interesting optical illusion – the eyes of Jesus appear to follow you no matter what angle you view it from. Kind of creepy, actually.)

To see in person Michelangelo’s iconic figure of the Hand of God giving life to Adam on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Apostolic Palace that I’ve seen in reproductions all of my life was a very awe-inspiring experience.

It was also interesting to learn that Michelangelo slipped in some private little jokes when he painted the Sistine Chapel. The figure of St. Bartholomew in the fresco of “The Last Judgment” on the wall behind the main altar is displaying his flayed skin, and the face on this skin is supposedly a self-portrait of Michelangelo. Also, one of the figures shown in Hell in this fresco is a depiction of the Pope’s Master of Ceremonies, who had criticized Michelangelo for painting all of the figures in the fresco as nudes.

We then entered St. Peter’s Basilica, the largest church in the world, where we saw Michelangelo’s “Pietà,” (which is now behind a bullet-proof sheet of glass to protect it from vandalism), the shrine to St. Peter, the underground burial crypts, and the tomb of Pope John Paul II. (He used to be buried in the underground crypts with the rest of the Popes, but got “promoted” to the Chapel of St. Sebastian on the main floor of the church after he was beatified.)

We then finished up the tour in St. Peter’s Square, designed and built by Bernini, where we also saw the famous balcony at the back of the Papal Palace where the Pope appears to give his blessing, as well as some of the Pope’s Swiss Guards.

After the Vatican City, Monique took us on a private visit to four famous Roman spots that she said every visitor to Rome has to see: the Piazza Navona (which Gary and I had already experienced from our wanderings the day before); the Pantheon (where Raphael is buried); the Trevi Fountain (into which you’re supposed to throw a coin to ensure your return to Rome); and the Spanish Steps (the widest staircase in Europe, named after the nearby Spanish Embassy).

For me, the Pantheon was even more impressive and awe-inspiring than the Coliseum because of its antiquity, the fact that it’s still standing and in such good shape after more than 2000 years (that’s because the Catholic Church took it over for use as a church), its simple yet dignified design, and the engineering miracle of its dome (it’s still the largest un-reinforced concrete dome in the world). The open oculus in the dome is the only source of light besides the entry door and channels sunlight around the interior in a reverse sun-dial effect.

The Trevi Fountain is certainly a beautiful example of the Baroque style as well as the largest fountain in the city. However, we did not follow the traditional custom of throwing in a coin because we didn’t feel like fighting the crowds around it. Also because we’re cheap and didn’t want to waste a euro. If we want to return to Rome someday, I think we’ll get back here even without a coin in the fountain.

Same thing with the Spanish Steps – Gary and I felt no desire to climb to the top of the steps and have our picture taken, even though we’re certainly in good enough shape to do it if we wanted to. After all, we climbed all 527 stairs to the dome of St. Peter’s in London, and that’s way more than the 138 Spanish Steps. But it also wasn’t 100° when we climbed those stairs in London.

Even though we’re not traditional tourists, we’re still glad we got to see all of these iconic Roman spots!

When we were ready to go back to the hotel, we had another adventure involving the Metro – a group experience this time. It turned out the Metro station nearest to us had been closed that day for repairs, so Monique had us all walk to the closest bus stop several blocks away and herded us all onto a bus (it was as crowded in there as a tin of sardines), which took us to the next open Metro station. From there we got back to our hotel in the Bologna district. At least Gary and I had exact change for the tickets this time.

We had another group dinner tonight at some restaurant I was too tired to notice the name of, where we had the usual four courses (Chicken Marsala for our entrée this time) and exchanged contact information. Then we retired early to re-pack and get ready for our journey home tomorrow.