Day 7: Vatican City

Today we spent the day at Vatican City. We got the subway to the closest stop and then walked the rest of the way to St. Peter’s Square. The square is really pretty and has a great view of the Basilica. We took several pictures before getting in line to go into the Basilica. They took things pretty serious to get in there and we had to go through metal detectors and they werechecking bags. The rules at the Vatican are very strict and you must be dressed appropriately with no tank tops, sleeveless shirts or short skirts or shorts. I came prepared with a t-shirt and longer skirt so I was good to go. We headed into the Basilica and were absolutely AMAZED! The inside just took my breath away. I can’t believe they were able to build such an amazing church without all the heavy machinery we have today! I loved exploring in the basilica and seeing all the details and artwork. It was just beautiful After we were done in the church we went down to the tombs and got to see where most of the popes and other important people are buried. It was really interesting to be down there and know that so many important people in the Catholic church are buried there. The tomb for Pope John Paul II is heavily guarded and many people make pilgrimages to his tomb. It was definitely an important place to see. We opted not to go up to the dome because the line was ridiculously long and we didn’t want to spend the money on it. We did see several Swiss Guard guys while at the Vatican which I have to say was pretty awesome! We found a place to have some snacks and then headed to the Vatican Museum.

St Peter's Square and Basilica

Joe and Amanda at St. Peter's Square

Ceiling in St. Peter's


The inside of St. Peter's

More interior

Swiss Guard

The museum is just crazy! I can’t believe how much stuff the church owns. it just kept going on and on and some of the areas was even closed. Some of the highlights included seeing an original painting by Raphael and Da Vinci but missed out on the Caravaggio because it was on loan for the 400th celebration of his life. (But we did eventually get to see one of his paintings so it made up for it!) We also got to see some of the old carriages and other transportation means for the Pope’s which was cool and then saw several Roman statues, (by the time we left this trip I think we might have seen close to a thousand, maybe not that many but several hundred!!!!!) Egyptian artifacts including some mummies, several tapestries which I’m always amazed bysince they can make such clear pictures on them, old maps, the round room and the Hall of Constantine. The last big stop before the Sistine Chapel were the Raphael Rooms that were all painted by Raphael and were once used as apartments by the Popes. I was mesmerized by the paintings and found them to be very beautiful. We saw some modern art and then made it to the Sistine Chapel.

Entrance to the museum

Raphael painting

Da Vinci Painting


Pope Transportation

Ceiling in the museum

Statues

One of the Raphael rooms

WOW, that’s about all I can say about the Sistine Chapel. Every inch of the chapel is painted and the artwork is just amazing! I had read that while painting this chapel Michael Angelo permanently hurt his back and went blind from all the paint dripping into his eyes. But, the end result was just beautiful. It was so wonderful to be able to appreciate such amazing works of art while visiting the Vatican.

Paintings in the Sistine Chapel

Famous Michael Angelo painting in the Sistine Chapel

We walked through several more areas and saw other church artifacts and religious relics before finally making it to the exit.

Tonight we ate at the most amazing restaurant! It’s called Rom Antica and the food was DELICIOUS! I think this was the best Italian I’ve ever had. We started with some bruchetta and then I order penne alla vodka, one of my favorites, and Joe got Veal Marsala. The food was delicious! That was by far the best penne alla vodka I’d ever had. Our waiter was fantastic and we ended dinner with some delicious tiramusu! It was an excellent end to the day.

Tomorrow was suppose to be our trip to Pompei and Naples but after some discussion we decided that 6 hours of traveling wasn’t really worth it (plus getting up at 7:00am and not returning until 11:00pm wasn’t sounded appealing) so we decided to stay in Rome and planned to see all the Roman sights the next day.