August 19, 2009 – Rome And Vatican City

Wednesday

Rome/Vatican City – today we went to one of the world’s biggest tourist attractions. It was our second day in Italy, but we just couldn’t wait any longer to visit the Musei Vaticani, Sistine Chapel and Saint Peter’s Basilica.

• Breakfast at the hotel (9:00 AM)
• Bus to Termini Station from Via Salaria/Via Aniene (10:00 AM)
• At 10:20 AM metro from Termini to the Ottaviano stop, arrived at 10:40 AM
• Walked along Via Ottaviano – Piazza Del Risorgimento (10:45 AM) – Viale Vaticano (11:00 AM) – standing in the line to enter the Musei building
• Musei Vaticani entry from the line at 11:15 AM
• Shopping at the gift store, then got the tickets (11:45 AM) and shopped again at the bookstore, getting an excellent guide to the Vatican treasures. Took the escalator to the Museum level.
• As in many other cases, we followed Rick Steves’ itinerary from his “Italy 2009″ book. But first we enjoyed free cold water from a drinking fountain – it was very hot again (12:10 PM). Then we started the exploration of the Vatican Museums with a visit to the court called Cortile della Pigna, deriving its name from a huge bronze pine cone and from there we went to the Egyptian Rooms with Egyptian antiquities (statues, sarcophagi, bas-reliefs, bronze artefacts, pottery, tools, etc.) (12:15 PM)
• From there we went to the Pio-Clementine Museum (lots of great works of Greek and Roman sculpture – interesting, but not very exciting, plus there were just too many of them) (12:40 PM)
• Then we got to the Octagonal Courtyard that was including one of the most famous statues in the world – the marble Laocoön Group from the 1st century A.D. and the statues by Canova. Next were some less interesting rooms – Animal Room – Mask Room – Gallery of Statues. From there we had to go back to the Cortile della Pigna, which wasn’t easy as we were going against the flow of the other visitors (1:00 PM).
• Unfortunately, it wasn’t possibly to see the the artifacts from the oldest European culture in the Etruscan Museum which was temporarily closed, but there was so much more waiting for us on the Upper Level after climbing up the Scala Simonetti: Gallery of the Candelabra (candelabra, statues, sarcophagi, frescoes, etc., Roman and Hellenistic) – Gallery of Tapestries (Flemish and Italian tapestries, including Scuola Nuova tapestries) (1:04 PM) – Gallery of Maps (40 frescoes with maps, mostly of the regions of Italy and of the Church’s territories and 80 episodes from the history of the Church and the lives of saints) (1:10 PM) – Gallery of St. Pius V (Flemish and Italian tapestries, the ceiling fresco by Vasari and Zucchi depicting the Fall of Lucifer and the Rebel Angels) – Room of Sobieski (named after the enormous painting occupying its entire north wall – by Polish artist Jan Matejko – presenting the victory of the King of Poland, John III Sobieski, over the Turks at Vienna in 1683 that prevented the Turkish capture of Europe) (1:18 PM) – Room of the Immaculate Conception (frescoes about the proclamation of the Immaculate Conception dogma by Pius IX) (1:20 PM) – Room of Constantine (Sala di Costantino) (decorated by pupils of Raphael) (1:23 PM) –  and finally:
• Raphael’s Stanze (Rooms) (masterpieces, frescoed by Raphael and his assistants between 1508 and 1524; e.g., Deliverance of Saint Peter, The School of Athens, The Parnassus; also see the detailed collections and the virtual tours of the rooms in this presentation at the official Vatican Museums’ website: Sala di Costantino, Stanza di Eliodoro, Stanza della Segnatura and Stanza dell’incendio del Borgo) (1:25 PM).
• Collezione d’Arte Religiosa Moderna (Collection of Modern Religious Art) – rooms with modern religious art displaying works by a representative selection of Italian and international 20th century artists – e.g., Chagall, Rodin, Dali, Kandinsky, Gauguin, Matisse, Klee, Braque, Kokoschka, Picasso, Bacon, Velasquez, etc. (1:45 PM)
• Walking up from the rooms of the Collection of Modern Religious Art, we finally reached the most important part of the Vatican Museums – the Sistine Chapel (entry at 1:50 PM). The chapel is still used for pontifical masses and for the conclave – to elect a new pope, as seen in the “Angels and Demons” movie. This website offers excellent presentation of the Sistine Chapel and the frescoes by the greatest Renaissance artists such as: Michelangelo, Raphael, Bernini, and Botticelli. The frescoes on the ceiling, and “The Last Judgement” at the wall behind the altar, are widely considered to be Michelangelo’s crowning achievements in painting. We exited the Chapel at 2:20 PM through a small door at the far-right corner. The Sistine Chapel was our last stage at the Vatican Museums; the only important part that was left to see was the Pinacoteca, but it would be too far and too crowdy – against the stream of the people – to go there from the Chapel. Plus we figured, that we were not missing too much – Leonardo’s unfinished “St. Jerome in the Wilderness”, Raphael’s “Transfiguration” and Caravaggio’s “The Entombment of Christ”. Nice pieces of art, but maybe we’ll see them next time. Anyway, here is a very nice presentation of the exhibits at the Pinacoteca.


Raphael's Stanza

• Some more hunting for the Vatican souvenirs at just another gift store…
• And then was time to visit the richest and most fascinating church in the world – Saint Peter’s Basilica; we entered it at 2:45 PM through one of the five bronze doors that lead into the Basilica. Inside, we followed again Rick Steves’ itinerary and his audioguide to find the most important treasures. Interestingly, contrary to popular misconception, Saint Peter’s Basilica is not a cathedral and it is not the seat of a bishop! It is properly termed a papal basilica. Still, as a work of architecture, it is considered to be the greatest building of its age.Here is the order in which we were exploring the St. Peter’s Basilica to see the most artistically significant works:
  • Michelangelo’s Pietà is the most famous work of art in the Basilica, located in the right aisle, inside the chapel behind the main doors, protected by the plate-glass sheeting after it was vandalized with a hammer in 1972. It is now perfectly restored. It’s hard to believe, but it’s true that the Pietà was sculptured by Michelangelo when he was just 23 and before it he had sculpted only two statues!
  • Still in the right aisle, we found the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament with the masterpieces by the three most important representatives of Roman Baroque. The Chapel was designed by Borromini, it has on the central altar the gilt bronze “Ciborium in the form of a round temple” by Bernini. Behind the altar is “Trinity” altarpiece by Cortona – the only altarpiece in the entire Basilica that is not in mosaic.
  • Between the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament and the Main Altar there is the Altar of St. Jerome with the urn of Pope John XXIII – at the back of St. Longinus pier. (2:58 PM)
  • On the other side of St. Longinus pier is the bronze statue of St. Peter Enthroned. The statue’s right foot is projecting beyond the pedestal and has been traditionally kissed by the visitors to the Basilica who expect the apostle’s blessings.
  • Under the dome: Main (Papal) Altar aka “Altar of the Confession”- above the St. Peter’s Tomb. Over the papal altar – Bernini’s Baldachin (“the most important structure in bronze of Roman Baroque sculpture”) – with bronze corkscrew columns (3:00 PM)
  • Four piers/statues around the Main Altar – the four massive splayed piers support the dome, each associated with the basilica’s holy relics: St. Andrew (with Saint Andrew’s Cross), St. Veronica (with the veil with which Veronica dried the face of Christ), St. Helen (with a fragment of the Cross found by St. Helena, mother of the Emperor Constatntine) and St. Longinus (the centurion with the spear that pierced the side of Jesus; he later converted to Christianity). St. Longinus statue is by Bernini; under its pedestal is the entrance to the Vatican Grottoes (Tombs of the Popes). The Grottoes have been the burial place of popes, cardinals and kings since 1606. The entry is free. NOTE: the Vatican Grottoes are different from the Necropolis where St. Peter’s Tomb is located. See interesting Virtual tour through the Vatican Necropolis. It is necessary to make a booking – long in advance (at least 1 month) – to visit the Necropolis by contacting Ufficio Scavi by letter, fax or email: uffscavi@fabricsp.va. The tickets are €10 pp.
  • Bernini’s oval “Dove of the Holy Spirit” stained-glass window above his “Cathedra Petri” (“Throne of St. Peter in Glory”. Set between two marble columns from the Constantinian Basilica, the oak chair (throne) is contained within another – massive bronze-and-gold – throne designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. (3:08 PM)
  • The Basilica’s dome rises to a total height of 136.57 metres (448.1 ft) from the floor of the Basilica to the top of the external cross and is the tallest dome in the world. Michelangelo redesigned the dome in 1547, taking into account all work that had been done before by other architects and artists. Two staircases provide access to the interior of the dome’s tambour and from there the visitors have access to the two walkways that run around the interior of the dome. The upper walkaway is 20 metres above the lower one, which is about 53 metres above the floor of the Basilica. The steep passageway between the two shells of the dome leads to the panoramic terrace at the base of the lantern – 120 metres above the level of St. Peter’s Square. The entrance to the dome is located in the courtyard on the right side of the Basilica by the exit to the Vatican Grottoes. Open daily, 8 AM-6 PM. The lines to get the tickets are always very long and they are €7 (lift+stairs) or €5 (stairs only). Lift is to the terrace above the aisles; from there to the interior of the dome it is necessary to use stairs.
  • The “Altar of the Transfiguration” on the back of the pier of St. Andrew features the altarpiece of the Transfiguration – the mosaic copy of the original painting by Raphael now in the Vatican Pinacoteca (there are no paintings in the Basilica, with one exception – see above, the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament).
• Exited Saint Peter’s Basilica at 4:00 PM – it was a good time to take the pics with the Swiss guards who probably had a change of guard at that time.
  
• Piazza San Pietro – Saint Peter’s Square – until 4:25 PM.


St. Peter's Square and St. Peter's Basilica

• Piazza Pio XII 4:26 PM
• Via della Conciliazione 4:28 PM  -  Canadian Embassy to the Holy See 4:37 PM – Drink at Piazza Pia 4:41 PM (WC too). Castel Sant’ Angelo (quite expensive to enter – actually more than quoted in the Rick Steves’ book (“Italy 2009″), but not too high on his list, so we passed it). Ponte Sant Angelo 5:30 PM. Piazza dei Tribunali Ex Palazzo di Giustizia 5:45 PM
• Ponte Umberto I 5:46 PM. Lungotevere Tor Di Nona 5:51 PM. Ponte Sant’ Angelo 6:07 PM
• Bus from Piazza Pia to Termini; arrived around 7:15 PM
• At the travel agency at Termini, we bought the remaining train tickets for the trips that we were planning for the next few days; once again the line was short and the service was fast.
• 8:33 PM. Grocery shopping at the Conad store at the lower level of the Termini station. (Brought the goods to the hotel and had supper there).
• Bus back to the hotel. Tomorrow exciting trip to Venice, so good rest needed after the hot and exciting day that included a visit to one of the world’s biggest attractions.