Interesting Fact: I can, in fact, cross the threshold of the center of the Catholic Church. Who knew?
So after a late start, we finally headed to the Vatican. I admit to feeling slightly anxious as I stared at St. Peter's Cathdral; most centers of worship make me very uncomfortable. However, I was quickly distracted by a persistent tour guide offering us a tour. While accepting this type of tour is generally not advisable, since we had gotten a late start, we were anxious to skip the lines. So we accepted the overpriced tour and were on our way (after a mere 30 minute wait...). My anxiety quickly evaporated once we were inside; far from seeming like the imposing, terrifying, center of one of the most influential and, arguably, oppressive institutions in the world, the Vatican - or at least what we saw of it - is more like an elaborate art museum. We toured the most important galleries and it was clear that the tour guide had been a good idea; otherwise, we likely would have had no idea what we were looking at (or at least less of an idea)! What really surprised me was how many works from Greco-Roman times there were. I mean, I understand the implications of having works from everywhere and everyone in terms of power and status and such, but there was so much pagan art. It seemed ironic to be walking through the room of the Muses and seeing statues of Apollo everywhere. Ah, well.
So after a late start, we finally headed to the Vatican. I admit to feeling slightly anxious as I stared at St. Peter's Cathdral; most centers of worship make me very uncomfortable. However, I was quickly distracted by a persistent tour guide offering us a tour. While accepting this type of tour is generally not advisable, since we had gotten a late start, we were anxious to skip the lines. So we accepted the overpriced tour and were on our way (after a mere 30 minute wait...). My anxiety quickly evaporated once we were inside; far from seeming like the imposing, terrifying, center of one of the most influential and, arguably, oppressive institutions in the world, the Vatican - or at least what we saw of it - is more like an elaborate art museum. We toured the most important galleries and it was clear that the tour guide had been a good idea; otherwise, we likely would have had no idea what we were looking at (or at least less of an idea)! What really surprised me was how many works from Greco-Roman times there were. I mean, I understand the implications of having works from everywhere and everyone in terms of power and status and such, but there was so much pagan art. It seemed ironic to be walking through the room of the Muses and seeing statues of Apollo everywhere. Ah, well.
Laocoon and the Serpents, based on the scene in the Iliad
Of course, the main attraction of the Vatican is the Sistine Chapel. The fact that a single man, even a man as brilliant as Michelangelo, could have painted the entire ceiling in addition to The Last Judgement was mind boggling. The room was beautiful, of course, but no pictures allowed! Before you start thinking "well, that's reasonable, pictures can negatively affect the priceless works of art," that is not the reason no pictures are allowed. The Vatican owns the reproduction rights to the artwork in the Sistine Chapel so...no other photography is allowed. Thanks, Catholic Church.
The full tour took almost four hours so once we got out (slight delay due to an unfortunate separation and miscommunication), we hopped on a bus immediately and went to our next stop: the Colosseum!
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