Hiiiiii
So after Pompeii and Vesuvius, we planned to stay local the next day and visit the Pope at Vatican City.
It so happened that there was an outdoor mass that day and my dad and brother were able to see Pope Benedict giving his sermon. My mom and I were exploring the shopping stands. It was a large outdoor ceremony so St. Peters was completely full with people and chairs for those who attended mass.
The Vatican was breathtaking. From the outside, it looks small, kind of puny even, but inside the vatican museums, and St. Peters Basilica, it was amazing.
We first went on a three hour tour of the vatican museums which ended with an entrance to the Sistine Chapel, from where, we could enter St. Peters Basilica. The Vatican Museums are over 14 miles long of hallways and paths where an impecable collection of art is housed. We were able to see magnificent pieces and it always impresses me that ceilings can be so incredibly intricate. Half the ceilings were intricate with gold embossment and the other ceilings were painted with such detail that on a flat surface, a painted design looks like it had real three dimensionality. It was incredible.
Through the Vatican Museums, you go through parts of the papal apartments. One specific portion of the museums are the Raphael rooms. There are 4 rooms in which Raphael painted his amazing frescos. In one room, featured prominently is his famous School of Athens in which all the great minds are featured. In the center of the painting you can see Plato and Aristotle discussing their differing ideals. To the right of them, in the green you can see Socrates talking to Alexander the Great. In the far left portion of the fresco, behind the man robed in white you can see a floating head in a beret. This is a self portrait of Raphael himself. After completing the painting, a couple years later, Raphael returned to make an adjustment. He added a figure in the foreground, brooding, looking like he is sketching something. This was Raphael's depiction of Michelangelo whom he greatly admired. Its chilling to walk around these rooms and think that such great minds worked here between 500-600 years ago. That they walked this land, worked in this room, and managed to leave behind their legacy.
We left Raphael behind to go see the Sistine Chapel, and the Last Judgement, Michelangelo's one contribution of many to the Vatican. We weren't supposed to be taking pictures, but I took one anyway. Someone then stopped me so I did not take anymore haha.
Our final stop was inside St. Peter's Basilica itself. It is a huge, behemoth of a church. Immediately to the right of the entrance exists Michelangelo's first sculpture, the Pieta. Meaning pity in Italian, it depicts the Virgin Mary holding the body of Jesus after he has been taken off of the cross. It is absolutely stunning to see in person. It's also incredible because it was all carved purely from one piece of marble. Michelangelo believed that every piece of marble had a story inside, waiting to be freed and told, and it was his duty to unearth what was hidden. He freed this masterpiece which has been admired for years.
Right in the middle of the Basilica is the Baldacchino, built by Bernini, it is a carved centerpiece made entirely of Bronze. When the Pope holds Mass, he stands under this magnificent structure and speaks. Behind the Baldacchino on the wall, is another Bernini masterpiece which is the epitome of the Baroque. In my pictures, you can't see it too well. It is a golden yellow stained glass piece with a dove in the center and the glass is surrounded by gold spikes. Through the mixed media, the piece is supposed to evoke emotion in the viewer, which is the point of Baroque art. It was simply gorgeous.
After leaving the Vatican, we walked down the bridge of Angels where Bernini and his students sculpted twelve angels and created this bridge across the Tiber River. It was cool to see the marble with all the dark clouds in the background.
And that concludes day 3.
Ro <3
So after Pompeii and Vesuvius, we planned to stay local the next day and visit the Pope at Vatican City.
It so happened that there was an outdoor mass that day and my dad and brother were able to see Pope Benedict giving his sermon. My mom and I were exploring the shopping stands. It was a large outdoor ceremony so St. Peters was completely full with people and chairs for those who attended mass.
The Vatican was breathtaking. From the outside, it looks small, kind of puny even, but inside the vatican museums, and St. Peters Basilica, it was amazing.
 |
| Outside in St. Peters! |
We first went on a three hour tour of the vatican museums which ended with an entrance to the Sistine Chapel, from where, we could enter St. Peters Basilica. The Vatican Museums are over 14 miles long of hallways and paths where an impecable collection of art is housed. We were able to see magnificent pieces and it always impresses me that ceilings can be so incredibly intricate. Half the ceilings were intricate with gold embossment and the other ceilings were painted with such detail that on a flat surface, a painted design looks like it had real three dimensionality. It was incredible.
 |
| Elaborate ceilings are in style |
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| This intricate design is actually flat, not sculpted. The shading is all painted. SO AWESOME. |
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| Hallway with the ceiling! |
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| Gold embossed ceiling. |
Through the Vatican Museums, you go through parts of the papal apartments. One specific portion of the museums are the Raphael rooms. There are 4 rooms in which Raphael painted his amazing frescos. In one room, featured prominently is his famous School of Athens in which all the great minds are featured. In the center of the painting you can see Plato and Aristotle discussing their differing ideals. To the right of them, in the green you can see Socrates talking to Alexander the Great. In the far left portion of the fresco, behind the man robed in white you can see a floating head in a beret. This is a self portrait of Raphael himself. After completing the painting, a couple years later, Raphael returned to make an adjustment. He added a figure in the foreground, brooding, looking like he is sketching something. This was Raphael's depiction of Michelangelo whom he greatly admired. Its chilling to walk around these rooms and think that such great minds worked here between 500-600 years ago. That they walked this land, worked in this room, and managed to leave behind their legacy.
 |
| Raphael, School of Athens |
We left Raphael behind to go see the Sistine Chapel, and the Last Judgement, Michelangelo's one contribution of many to the Vatican. We weren't supposed to be taking pictures, but I took one anyway. Someone then stopped me so I did not take anymore haha.
 |
| Sistine Chapel! You can see the creation of man on the rightmost side of this picture! |
Our final stop was inside St. Peter's Basilica itself. It is a huge, behemoth of a church. Immediately to the right of the entrance exists Michelangelo's first sculpture, the Pieta. Meaning pity in Italian, it depicts the Virgin Mary holding the body of Jesus after he has been taken off of the cross. It is absolutely stunning to see in person. It's also incredible because it was all carved purely from one piece of marble. Michelangelo believed that every piece of marble had a story inside, waiting to be freed and told, and it was his duty to unearth what was hidden. He freed this masterpiece which has been admired for years.
Right in the middle of the Basilica is the Baldacchino, built by Bernini, it is a carved centerpiece made entirely of Bronze. When the Pope holds Mass, he stands under this magnificent structure and speaks. Behind the Baldacchino on the wall, is another Bernini masterpiece which is the epitome of the Baroque. In my pictures, you can't see it too well. It is a golden yellow stained glass piece with a dove in the center and the glass is surrounded by gold spikes. Through the mixed media, the piece is supposed to evoke emotion in the viewer, which is the point of Baroque art. It was simply gorgeous.
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| Pieta, Michelangelo |
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| Baldacchino, Bernini The golden disk you see in the back is the stained glass that I was talking about with the dove. |
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| ME! inside the Basilica |
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| Saw my swiss guards hahah |
After leaving the Vatican, we walked down the bridge of Angels where Bernini and his students sculpted twelve angels and created this bridge across the Tiber River. It was cool to see the marble with all the dark clouds in the background.
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| Angel #1, Bernini |
And that concludes day 3.
Ro <3
dying. i love bernini's work soooooo much. wish i could see it in person :(
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