Mary Kathryn, Mary Hannah and I spent a whirlwind 3 days in
Rome…including traveling. We got up bright and early Monday morning, drove to
Orvieto, trained to Rome and started off the trip!
Our first stop, the Vatican. James and I had already been
here, but I was more than happy to pay again to see the Sistine Chapel, and
this time we did a Rick Steve’s tour through the museum…. James and I had tried
to do it, but we got off track and then just gave up and wandered. So using the
tour was so helpful! The last time we were in Rome, James and I really took a
liking to sculpture- so we started the tour going through the Greek and Roman
sculptures.
We saw the famous, Apollo sculpture that represents balance,
perfect beauty and poise, and well roundedness. The Greeks thought great men
were not only great warriors, but poets and musicians as well.
Next up was a crazy half statue of Hercules by Michelangelo.
I remember the first time I saw this and thought- weird. But after reading a
little more about the history and actually looking at the piece for a time, it
was crazy how detailed and awesome it is!
Here is a HUGE Roman bath!
The Sistine Chapel didn’t disappoint either…although
everyone in the chapel did…I was so mad! Everyone was loud and talking and no
one listened when the guards hushed everyone. I mean everything really was
beautiful, but I really had wanted MK and MH to experience the quiet
reverence…instead we got pushed around by old, angry, tourists.
Then we exited out some back way that was only for tour
groups…whoops…and made it to St. Peter’s Basilica- which was what I was SO
excited for.
There are five bronze doors that enter into the basilica,
and the one on the far right is called the Holy Door. It is only opened every
25years for Christmas Eve. The Pope knocks on the door 3 times, opens it, and
then lets all of the people on pilgrimage pass through.
Inside was Michelangelo’s famous Pieta…that is now behind
glass because some psycho attacked it with a chisel. He sculpted this when he
was 24. Really puts all of my accomplishments in perspective!
There was a line down the center to show how big other
churches were compared to St. Peters…it was HUGE. I wandered around in
amazement for a while…especially staring at the massive alter…that is only used
when the Pope preaches. The alter is surrounded by what resembles a seven story
four-poster bed, built by Bernini (famous for his Baroque style). My favorite part was the dove window…it looks
so small, but the dove is in fact 6 feet wide. A beautiful oak chair, known as
the Throne of Peter, surrounds it.
We left the Vatican and wandered down to the Castel nearby.
Castel Sant’Angelo was build by Emperor Hadrain because of the Roman law that
no one could be buried inside the Roman city walls. So he tried to stick it to
the man and built himself a huge castle directly outside the city wall. We just
walked around and enjoyed listening to music and looking at the beautiful river
flowing near.
Day 2- the Long Day
Colessum
Campo di Fiore and Piazza Navonna
Pantheon
Gelato
Trevi Fountain
And then the crazy night began...
