Rome, Italy, Day two
Rising early, we set off for the Vatican Museum, trying to beat some of the crowd and get an easy entrance into the Sistine Chapel and St Peter’s Basilica. We grabbed some pastries for breakfast and were greeted by a line stretching well down the street at the museum. This line was because it hadn’t opened yet and people were waiting, when we returned later in the day, there was no line at all. So much for the early start!
The museum was crammed full of ‘stuff’, all ridiculously old and interesting. However, there’s only so many statues of angry men you can look at, so we eventually made our way towards the Sistine Chapel. Walking in just takes your breath away and you could spend hours looking up at the amazing ceiling, if your neck could stand it. The ceiling depicts Genesis, pretty much from the start of the Bible (Let there be light!) until the Flood (get all the animals onto the arky-arky…). The main wall depicts judgement day and is quite a contrast from the ceiling - it’s not a happy Jesus who is sorting the naughty and nice. The real standout piece is God giving life to Adam (the finger-touching one). It stands out as soon as you look up and you keep being drawn back to it again and again. Also interesting is Michaelangelo’s self portrait on the wall as a flayed peice of flesh with a face looking out, right near the centre of the work. You can tell he wasn’t quite sure which side of the Styx he was going to end up on himself.
The idea was then to slip through the tour group door for a secret entrance to St Peter’s Basilica; however, there were three security guards watching it like hawks and we were quickly picked out of the tour group we tried to attach ourselves to. This meant we had to head back out to St Peter’s square and join the queue in the still-35C sun. Thankfully, the line was actually moving and we were inside not too long after. The basilica was every bit as amazing as the chapel, and was just plain huge. Marked along the floor were indications of where many other enormous churches would fit if they were placed inside. We spent quite a bit of time roaming around the different parts before deciding to head up to the cuppola (the very top of the dome). Unfortunately, it seemed everyone else in continental Europe had the same idea and joined us in the queue. This one took forever and was extremely hot and crowded. By the time we got to the start of the stairs leading up, we’d already started to wilt and Katie’s feet were beginning to strongly object to her shoes. We pressed on up the winding, stuffy and claustrophobic staircases and eventually were rewarded by one of the best views in Rome, even if it was a bit crowded. After climbing back down, we’d had enough Vatican fun for one day and returned home for lunch (lasagna, with no less than eight sheets of pasta) and to recuperate.
Not wanting to waste too much time, we decided to visit the Castel Sant’Angelo in the afternoon. This was a great place to slowly look around and also offered great views of the city. The castle was continually upgraded as warfare developed and it was fascinating to see these changes, including the strange design, and the various uses the castle had over the centuries.
Pretty much exhausted by this stage, we ended up back near the Trevi fountain and in another restaurant for dinner and a really good tiramisu. The gelato has to wait until tomorrow night!
Simon
