Monday June 17
A very early start to the day, hopefully to beat the crowds. On our tour of the Colosseum, we met a young Australian couple Nathan and Jacinta. They had told of hours waiting in line, then waddling like penguins (not sure which variety they were referring to) and it being extremely hot in the Vatican with no air-con.
We were lucky to gain access through the stairway of Bramante, a spiral ramp used by a pope to ride a donkey to the top (another thought bubble here). While the entry was busy, it was relatively quick.
St Peter’s in the near distance:
The fractured orb, or more correctly ‘Sphere within a sphere’ an artwork by Arnaldo Pomodoro.
The actual stairway of Bramante:
Looking up in the spiral stairwell
View through window
View out to Rome from the stairwell
At the top of the ramp, we have direct access to part of the Vatican museum:
However we are now catching up with crowd, and starting our waddle.
The entry corridor is just absolutely lined with artwork, all unprotected and just sitting beside the walkway:
This is actually a mosaic, not a painting:
This corridor leads into another lined with tapestries.
And thence into the map room
And eventually out to St Peter’s Square, from which we gain access to the Sistine Chapel. Unfortunately they are extremely strict on not taking photos in the chapel, saying it is a place for silence and contemplation. This is somewhat negated by a very, very loud series of announcements demanding (yes demanding, not asking) “Silence”, repeated in several languages. These are also interspersed with demands for ‘No Photos’ and ‘No videos’. There are also monitors in the crowd, checking for surrepticious photographers. Actual several just held phones above their heads and were easily jumped on.
The chapel was actually very crowded and hot.
The Basilica itself
What can I say, somewhere between stunning architecture, unbelievable art, and layout like a giant shopping mall – naves and side altars branching off everywhere.
While there were a lot of people there, it was not really crowded.
To keep the size of the dome in perspective, the blue letters around its base are over 2m (6ft) tall.
Again, this is a mosaic not a painting.
This is a monument to the children of the Stuarts – the deposed kings of Scotland – exiled because they were catholics.
The Swiss guards (Don’t think this guy actually liked having his photo taken – was giving me the evil eye)
Back to the real world
