The Vatican

Maria met us at our hotel at 1:45PM and we walked to the Vatican. The entrance, not 5 minutes from our hotel is through a massive ancient wall. Once inside, it’s the 21st Century. We visited the garden briefly and then entered the carriage house. This new addition to the Vatican Museums contains Pope-mobiles, limousines, Jeeps, carriages, wagons and those ornate enclosed chairs carried on the shoulders of slaves. I forget the name. Many of the carriages [probably 30 in total] are no less impressive that the royal carriages we see used for state pomp in England. We then headed to the painting galleries; the Vatican’s only Caravaggio is there. After a feast of Giotto, Fra Angelico, Fra Lippi, an un-finished Da Vinci, and the magnificent Caravaggio we entered the sculpture galleries. One of the galleries is the Hall of 1000 Heads and contains centuries of hairstyles and nose jobs. After touring the galleries we entered the basilica. The Pieta, even deep inside an impenetrable plexi-glass chamber is the most amazing sculpture I have ever seen. And he did it when he was 23 years old. The apse of St. Peter’s is impressive. Bernini’s towering canopy beneath the dome, the ornate altars at every turn, the gold leaf everywhere and the incredible stone floor testify to the power the Vatican hold over so many. We then went outside to the piazza. Maria told us that during the election of a new Pope the Piazza overflows down the Via to the Castel Sant’Angelo, similar to the spectacle of Obama’s inaugeration. We left Maria at the Vatican and walked down to the river to take a boat tour of the Tiber. After that we headed back to Prati and the restaurant we ate at the night before.