I Carry Your Heart With Me: Rome with MK and MH

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.