Marley had booked a tour of the Vatican for 10:45 a.m. but was notified that it had been re-scheduled for 8:15 a.m. So we got up early and took a city bus somewhat near our meeting point. The tour was for a small group of about 10 and included a tour of the museum and St. Peter’s Basilica. We had an English speaking guide who was an archaeologist and historian. Each of us had a little receiver and earplug so that we could hear him. This was important because it was extremely crowded throughout and the were always a couple of nearby tours. The tour was relatively expensive.
As you can imagine, there were serious security protocols in place and plenty of police/officials (including the Swiss Guards who, in spite of their funny looking uniforms looked pretty tough and looked liked they meant business). Getting inside was no mean feat as there were long lines everywhere. Our tour guide was, fortunately, pretty efficient at maneuvering us through this organized chaos.
The buildings and grounds looked magnificent; it was almost impossible to comprehend the size of the museum and the size, scope and content of the collections. The photos I have posted do not do it justice (I apologize for not taking more and for the quality). For example, there was one large hall (maybe 100 meters long) literally filled with Roman statues and busts etc. Another hall of similar size had huge tapestries lining the walls on both sides.
All of the rooms were beautifully decorated with paintings and most of the ceilings were beautifully painted as well. We went through the Sistine chapel. The chapel as a whole was beautiful and, of course, the ceilings done by Michaelangelo were magnificent.
We then went into St. Peter’s Basilica. It was huge, beautiful and breathtaking and did not disappoint. Again, the art was spectacular. It gave you the feeling that you were in a special. holy place. Our tour took about 3 hours and at the end we found ourself in St. Peter’s Square. I really enjoyed seeing the Square.
I am glad that we took this tour of the Vatican. It will take a while for me to digest/process what I saw. But, it will undoubtedly help with my perspective and understanding of history in general and the Roman Catholic church in particular.
Before ending this post, a couple of random thoughts/comments:
- I had been hoping to see the Pope but he must have taken the day off to get a head start on the long weekend.
- The large numbers of people made it uncomfortable (I think that they get about 41,000 visitors per day). I don’t know that they can do anything about this given how important it is to people.
- I felt rushed. The tour guide and the staff kept everyone moving along. Again, given the numbers, I don’t know that they have a choice. But, I simply did not have the time to do a good job of taking in even a small part of what I saw.
- Although no smoking was permitted today around the Vatican, the number of people smoking and/or vaping is really noticeable and the smoke is a bit bothersome.
- By the time we got back to the Air B & B (after eating some tasty street food), we were tired. It was at this point that Brandon had a scratchy throat and thought that he had some allergies. We later learned this was the beginning of our COVID experience.
