Religion has been a part of the majority of our lives.
I don't pretend to be a strict Catholic. I know I don't pray as often as I should. I attend Church typically on Easter or Christmas or the unfortunate funeral.
As an adult, I have developed my own opinions about the church, the organized part of the Church and their laws, rules and opinions. I struggle at times with certain religious topics imposed by the Church, those dark clouds in the Catholic faith. The controversial and archaic topics. In my heart, I know they sometimes keep me from occupying a pew on Sunday.
It's unfortunate.
Because in reality, there is just something about the traditional Catholic Mass that is beautiful and fills my soul - with faith.
Because this faith has been a part of all of my life, there was no way we would pass up the opportunity to visit the Vatican. Without a doubt, Rah Rah and I were most looking forward to our day spent there.
The tour we booked took us through a few of the Vatican museums, the Sistine Chappel and St. Peter's Basilica. The museums were actually just different intertwining rooms and corridors within the Vatican City. The Pio Clementino Museum (classical antiquity), housed original marble statues.
The Gallery of the Tapestries was a long corridor with the largest tapestries I have ever seen in my life. All depicting a different religious scene.
Every floor, wall or ceiling adorned in thoughtful architecture. Original paintings on ceilings that gave an illusion of being three dimensional.
The Gallery of the Geographical Maps (Renaissance Art), showed territorial maps throughout different empires, rulers and ages.
I really enjoyed the Raphael Rooms. They are famous for their frescoes, painted by Raphael and his workshop. Our tour guide was very educated on the different fresco paintings.
This depicted the Catholic faith overcoming the Pagans.
This wall depicted the School of Athens and the idea of leaning - geometry, science, philosophy.
Our guide told us that the artists back then did not sign their name to their work like modern artists today. Instead, they would obscurely paint their self portrait into the piece as their signature.
In the School of Athan's fresco, Raphael's self portrait is the young man to the very right with the black hat and red shirt. His creepy eyes the only ones staring at you from the painting as if obviously not a part of the scene depicted.
I loved walking over the original mosaic floors throughout the Vatican. No doubt walked across by saints, Popes, and other dignitaries. I maybe or maybe not only slipped my sandal off for a split second to touch the floor with my bare foot. Why? - I am not sure.
Unfortunately, we could not document the Sistine Chapel. It is a holy place and no photographs were allowed.
Tempting - Yes. But we practiced self control.
At the very beginning of the tour our, our guide talked about the frescoes on the Sistine Chapel since there is also no talking inside. It is famous for its architecture and its decoration that was frescoed throughout by Renaissance artists including Michelangelo, Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Pinturicchio, Domenico Ghirlandaio, and others. The history of the frescoes, Michelangelo and the fact that other artists actually contributed over the years to the frescoes was amazing to us. Wiki actually has most of the history highlights posted for those interested.
While we were standing in the center of the room, shoulder to shoulder with other tourists, staring up at the ceiling while trying to consciously keep our mouths closed, the guards began escorting several men dressed in all black. They were no doubt important religious figures. One man carried a large book with what looked like Arabic writing on it.
The men went to the alter and entered into a moment of prayer followed by some sort of song. The already silent room fell still as we watched. I have searched online and can not figure out who they were.
After about 30 minutes or more in the Sistine Chapel, we proceeded towards St. Peter's Basilica. in the courtyard between the two buildings was a grand statue of St Peter. St Peter is said to have been crucified under Emperor Nero Augustus Caesar. It is traditionally said that he was crucified upside down at his own
request, since he saw himself unworthy to be crucified in the same way
as Jesus Christ.
His Basilica is... more than amazing. It is incredible and marvelous and stunning. Every inch of the Basilica adorned in some sort of fresco, marble insert, carving, trim or tapestry. No space left untouched. All thoughtfully, elaborately and cohesively flowing in grandeur.
Statues if reverence to past Popes.
Private rooms for prayer and reflection.
It was gigantic and spectacular. We were just two souls surrounded my hundreds of people - no thousands - from every nationality you could imagine. In part it was almost overwhelming.
Our timing was perfect and we were able to catch the last half of Mass, in Italian. We felt privileged to sit, pray and partake in the Mass - there in St Peter's Basilica.
I have no doubt that we could have spent 12 days there and still not fully seen everything perfectly or given attention to every detail.
The outer courtyard was amazing as well. Seeing the square on television is really very deceiving. Imaging this square filled with people for an election of a new Pope is the craziest thing to imagine - hundreds of thousands of people!
A Canadian couple asked us to take their picture and they then returned the favor. We offered a little friendly small talk afterwards of, "Where are you from," and all of a sudden like a kid at Disney Land, the man looked at us and gleefully exclaimed, "Can you believe we are standing here?"
We chuckled and smiled. No, we really could not believe we were there, in Rome, at the Vatican, seeing all of these magnificent sights with our own two eyes.
The Vatican Guards.
Lord knows the Church likes it's traditions - right down to the uniform policy.
Did you know the Catholic Church just recognized two new saints?
Laura of St. Catherine of Siena Montoya y Upegui, a nun who toiled as a teacher and spiritual guide to indigenous people in the 20th century. And Maria Guadalupe Garcia Zavala, also know as Mother Lupita, a Mexican who dedicated herself to nursing the sick, helped Catholics avoid persecution during a government crackdown on the faith in the 1920s. There pictures hung outside in St Peter's Square.
After hours of touring the Vatican, we were famished and found a quaint little table to sit at.I thoroughly enjoyed my Italian sausage pizza.
Rah Rah was not as impressed with her homemade pasta and tomato sauce.
Something about Chef Boyardee...
We went back to our hotel, bellies full, and squeezed in a little power nap before a very anticipated night out on the town.
A friend suggested a restaurant a little ways from our hotel. Unfortunately, Rome eats late. Late as in the soonest reservation we could get was for 9:30pm.
While we waited, we sat down at this little wane bar right next door. We ended up staying there for about 3 hours and had the best time! We first met a group of American pilots here on their weekly layover. We met a worldly couple who's 15 year old boy made Rah Rah and I look like ignorant Americans. He could speak like five languages, had the perfect US accent, and was studying to be like a brain surgeon or something.
Eventually, a lovely couple came and shared our table. They were from Denmark and we thoroughly enjoyed visiting with them.
Lastly before our reservation, we had a couple from northern Italy visiting their friend sit with us. That's just the way it was there. If you had a couple extra seats at your table, well slide on over sister and pull up a stool. It was such a different cultural practice and yet so friendly and inviting. Thank goodness the "universal language" is English!
The bar owner was the most friendly, inviting and gracious man. He laughed out loud, joked, shared stories over a glass of wine and new his patrons by name. His wait staff was exactly the same. They were probably the friendliest establishment I have ever visited.
I only wish we found this place the very first night!
It was the perfect way to say good bye to Rome.
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