Today we had our Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica Skip the Line tour. It was only 3 hours but it wiped us out. The Vatican Museums are plural because they are actually collections of different Pope's and influential persons rather than art preserved and displayed for historical documentation. So, we saw several of these collections (but not all - again, it was just a 3 hour tour). Our tour guide explained that back in the time that many of the statues were created, they were dressed in clothing of that time period, were painted to look life-like, including make-up, and some even wore jewelry (pierced ears and everything).
After we saw the Sistine Chapel. It was magnificent. I can't imagine spending three years straight working on painting a ceiling and then spending another 4 years painting one wall, but the time taken is evident in the quality of the work. Our guide explained the different depictions beforehand as silence is required within the chapel. The purpose really was to help the Cardinals choosing the next Pope remember what their purpose is and the history of Christianity. With that being said, Michelangelo was not interested in being constrained by a conservative mind-set and this is evident in some of the faces of his subjects (different personages bear likenesses of people he both admired and did not admire - to put it nicely). I wasn't quite sure what to expect with the Sistine Chapel, but I was expecting something a bit bigger - probably because I have see so many grand cathedrals - but it's a chapel, not a cathedral. Still, it is very well worth seeing.
Lastly, we saw St. Peter's Basilica. It is an enormous Basilica. The dome is huge. There is writing painted around the inside edge - each letter is 6 feet tall - and it didn't look like they were that tall. Everything was created out of marble, including the pictures. They look like paintings, but they are actually created by minuscule pieces of marble, glass, and gold pieced together in a mosaic. Again, they looked like paintings unless you looked very closely at them.
Afterwards Michelle and I went back to our apartment for lunch and didn't leave. We needed some time to recuperate.
Again, here is the link to our video. I am thinking I won't get pictures posted till much later, possibly even once I return to the States - but don't worry. You'll get to see some pictures too :)
Vatican Tour
After we saw the Sistine Chapel. It was magnificent. I can't imagine spending three years straight working on painting a ceiling and then spending another 4 years painting one wall, but the time taken is evident in the quality of the work. Our guide explained the different depictions beforehand as silence is required within the chapel. The purpose really was to help the Cardinals choosing the next Pope remember what their purpose is and the history of Christianity. With that being said, Michelangelo was not interested in being constrained by a conservative mind-set and this is evident in some of the faces of his subjects (different personages bear likenesses of people he both admired and did not admire - to put it nicely). I wasn't quite sure what to expect with the Sistine Chapel, but I was expecting something a bit bigger - probably because I have see so many grand cathedrals - but it's a chapel, not a cathedral. Still, it is very well worth seeing.
Lastly, we saw St. Peter's Basilica. It is an enormous Basilica. The dome is huge. There is writing painted around the inside edge - each letter is 6 feet tall - and it didn't look like they were that tall. Everything was created out of marble, including the pictures. They look like paintings, but they are actually created by minuscule pieces of marble, glass, and gold pieced together in a mosaic. Again, they looked like paintings unless you looked very closely at them.
Afterwards Michelle and I went back to our apartment for lunch and didn't leave. We needed some time to recuperate.
Again, here is the link to our video. I am thinking I won't get pictures posted till much later, possibly even once I return to the States - but don't worry. You'll get to see some pictures too :)
Vatican Tour
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