We left our apartment in Trastevere early to walk to the Vatican - a half hour stroll - and when we saw the crowds we were so pleased that we'd organised a 'skip the line' tour. It seems much more crowded than when I was last here 8 years ago, in September. My first visit, in 1996, had been in May and that had been very crowded, but I'd expected it to be a little quieter in late October. Not so.
There were less than 20 of us in our group and Patricia, our guide, was knowledgeable - she's an archaeologist by profession and was born in Rome. She spoke very clearly and was obviously passionate about her subject. She guided us through some horrendous crowds, through many of the rooms of the museum, talking about the history of the building and the art as we went.
We took so many photos it's difficult to choose which to add here, so here are just a couple.
The crowds were a problem and we were reduced to shuffling many times, but we did see a lot as we inched our way through the many rooms of art. There were paintings hanging on the walls, painted on the walls, statues, tapestries, painted ceilings everywhere, and much more. Patricia explained how the colours of the painted walls had remained so bright over the years. The artists of those times discovered that if they painted on fresh plaster the colours bonded with the plaster in some chemical process that kept the colour over time - forever it seems.
Some of the art dates back to days just a few hundred years after Christ. The popes were a warring lot who fought battles and conquered people, building their wealth. They demanded that artists work to beautify their palaces and churches. Michelangelo was a bit of a rebel and he was known to put the faces of his enemies in his works, in a critical way. Most of his figures were naked, contrary to the cardinal's instruction, and many years after his death they were dressed by other artists.
The Sistine chapel was much different to my last viewing, in 1996. (I hadn't bothered in 2007). At that time it was undergoing some cleaning and only a small portion was available to view, and that part was very dark. This time all was visible and it was bright with colour. Patricia had explained that they had thought the colours were dark but when they cleaned a portion they realised it was just dirt. I remember how silent it was in there in 1996. Not this time, even though the guards kept calling for silence, people kept talking. We were not allowed to take any photographs in the Sistine Chapel unfortunately.
After our visit to the chapel, we went on to St Peters Basilica. There we saw the Pieta, by Rafael. A barrier kept us further back than the last time I'd seen it, but still behind glass, thanks to a deranged man (said to be Australian but who wasn't born here) who attacked it with a hammer some years ago.
Patricia explained how they had found what they think are the bones of St Peter, who they knew was buried on the spot where the basilica was built. Those bones are under the crypt, where the popes are buried, which is under the floor. We didn't go down but we saw that level through a grate in the floor.
By this time our heads were feeling like cotton wool and our eyes dazzled. Patricia left us then and we were free to spend as much time in St Peters as we wanted, but we were tired and hungry and decided to go and find some lunch.
We planned on going to see the Pantheon so walked to Piazza Navona, and on the way we found a lovely little Osteria. I had lasagne (fatto a casa - which means home-made) and Lindy a spinach Salad.
After our little rest, we walked on to the Pantheon, where we saw Rafael's tomb, amongst other things. It's a fascinating place and a marvel of engineering and architecture.
By this time we were very weary so walked back home. We went out later to buy something for dinner but we were still pretty tired, so settled for a gelato. We bought some potato chips for dinner and bananas for breakfast. Not very healthy but at least all the walking we are doing means we haven't put on any weight.
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