St. Peter's Basilica and Beyond!

Saint Peters Basilica is one place I will never, ever forget. There is something about this historic building that commanded a peaceful presence. Upon entrance into the Basilica I stopped and just stared. This building is huge! The ceiling towers over and the colors that splatter the inside are so vibrant and gorgeous. Murals of saints, sculptures of angels, and Latin calligraphy plaster the walls every, leaving the observer confused about where to start. Pictures really cannot do justice to the monstrosity of artwork and beauty that is St. Peter’s Basilica.

When I entered, the first thing that caught my eye was the long walkway that goes through the middle of this massive church. When walking down the walkway there are may small cathedrals to each side. Each one is dedicated to a different saint or pope and all of beautiful artistry covering ever inch of the walls. I walked around the Basilica taking in the general splendor, the colors, the tourists conversing in countless languages, and the priests and nuns that were everywhere. Out of everything I have seen on my trip thus far, St. Peter’s Basilica has been the most magnificent and breath taking.

I went to mass in the Basilica, (it was actually in English which was pretty cool) after I met a very nice security guard who was convinced that I was French. I ended up standing in the back of mass, next to about 15 young priests who sang the hymns, because I was a couple minutes late (I couldn’t find the right chapel to go to because my Italian is pretty rusty.) It was a very enjoyable experience. After mass, I happened upon a choir of about 300 people, ranging from 8 years of age to about 60. They were singing traditional Latin hymns and it was quite the sight to hear and watch.

After an enjoyable morning at St. Peter’s Basilica I headed over to the Vatican City museums. I was so thankful that I had bought a ticket online (thanks again to Kevin’s prompting) before I went because there was a line that wrapped a very long way around the building and would have taken about 2 hours to wait in. The Vatican museum was the most crowded museum I have ever seen. Thousands of people were milling about everywhere and I heard about 8 different languages being spoken. The museum itself was beyond incredible. There were artifacts, like bowls and pots, from 5000 B.C., sarcophagus from the days of the Egyptian pharaohs, Greek sculptures of various gods, and paintings galore.

A couple of paintings that I would like to particularly note would be the Sistine Chapel (obviously) and Raphael’s painting The School of Athens. Firstly: the Sistine Chapel. It is one thing to see pictures of the chapel in history class or on Wikipedia and another to see it in real life on the ceiling above my head. Michelangelo was a genius. That pretty much sums it up. The way he could portray people in paintings is 100% life like and his color schemes are gorgeous. There were so many people viewing the Sistine Chapel that it was like being at a concert in a mosh pit. Regardless of what way I turned, I bumped into people (not to mention the AC was not very good, so everyone was hot and sweaty.)

Secondly: The School of Athens. Raphael’s paintings are one of my favorites, particularly this one. I love the way so many famous scholars are portrayed all together is quite amazing. In this painting, located in the Stanzi de Raphaello are famous figures including Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Pythagoras, Euclid, Ptolemy, Zoroaster, Sodoma, Diogenes, and a self portrait of Raphael himself. It was definitely my favorite painting I saw today.

After the Vatican Museums, I went out for a late lunch to this local pizza parlor. The way that you order pizza here (with my lack of the Italian language) involves pointing to the one that looks the best in the display case and smiling at the waitress who doesn’t speak any Italian. Then, the waitress weighs it and the bill is based on how much the pizza weighs. Once it is weighted, they cut it in half, heat it up, and fold it into a sandwich. It is by far and away the best pizza I have ever had and going back to Papa Murphy’s when I get back to the USA might be tough. Then, I headed back to the hotel for a bit to catch up on my email and blogging. One more day in Rome tomorrow!