Vatican City at break neck speed
Written: May 09 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Artwork - history - faith -- a pretty powerful mix.
Cons: The crowds can make it difficult to see anything.
The Bottom Line: Once again, I would have liked a lot more time here. I guess that means I "have" to go back.
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| azielinski's Full Review: Holy See (Vatican City) |
Are you still with me? Vatican City was another one of the stops on the whirlwind trip of Italy that I took with my mother.
Although I don't remember exactly what time we got to Vatican City, I do know it was early. Early as it was, there were still lots of other people arriving at the same time. (Apparently groups can start going through earlier in the day than individuals.)
We were taken through the Museums and St. Peter's by the same person who had taken us to ancient Roman sites the day before. (He also told us a great deal about the Sistine Chapel - but that was before we actually went in because you are not supposed to be talking in the chapel.)Unless you know a lot about art history and the history of the Vatican, a guide is very important. (Just keep it in mind - you want to get the most out of this and if you don't know what you are looking it, it makes it hard to do that.)
Once you go through the metal detectors and up the stairs and the escalators, you find yourself in the Vatican Museum. The are the repository of all sorts of art and "other things". The mosaics of wild animals aren't art - they were advertisements for the types of animals that were being slaughtered in the Colosseum that day. The urns and statues aren't art - they are "house decorations". The mosaics on the ceilings and the inlaid marble floors are also just house decorations. (One of my favorite "house decorations" were the murals depicting the map of Italy.)
From the Museum, the next stop is the Sistine Chapel.
As you have probably heard, there has been a restoration project going on in the Sistine Chapel for several years. Some very talented people have been cleaning the ceiling slowly and painstakingly and it is finally done. While I don't know exactly how many people it took or how many hours it took or how much money it took - it is worth it. The figures leap out at you. The colors are amazing. It looks like it was just done. (The restorers have left two small places untouched so that you can see what has been done. They are blackened with the pollution of the last centuries and while you can see color through the blackness, you can only just see it.)
My mother had been to the Sistine Chapel before - several decades before. She was thrilled that she could see the frescos so clearly.
From the Sistine Chapel, it is on to St. Peter's.
Throughout the Museum and the Sistine Chapel, no photography is permitted. It is permitted in St. Peters because it isn't going to damage the paintings. The reason it isn't going to damage painting in St. Peter's is because there are no paintings - those are mosaics!
You can spot some of the mosaics right away but others are so detailed that you really have to look very hard and even then it is kind of hard to believe.
Also in St. Peter's is the Pieta - behind a protective shield.
Once outside St. Peter's you can see where people wait for the Pope's blessing, where he appears so give his blessing, and the chimney that announces the election of the new Pope. (When a new Pope is elected by the College of Cardinals, there are usually several rounds in the election. While the process is still going on the ballots are burned with something so that the smoke that emerges from this particular chimney is black. When the new Pope is elected, the ballots are burned by themselves and the smoke is white, which signals that a new Pope has been elected.)
You are probably sick of reading this yet again, but I am going to have to go back to Vatican City. I haven't even scratched the surface of what is in the Museum. Like all great museums, this needs repeat visits.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Friends
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
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Epinions.com ID:
azielinski
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Location: Boston, MA
Reviews written: 341
Trusted by: 174 members
About Me:
Just started a new job...I'll be writing again soon.
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