5C's Que Pasa

The Metro in Rome is always busy but during rush hour it was beyond crowded. Twice while there a younger woman stood and offered me her seat.  I didn’t think that I looked that old!

This is the famous spiral staircase the many miss as it is located in the gift shop just as you come up the escalator.  It is an exit but most of us leave the Vatican in a much different area.

The first area you see with museums to the left and to the right.  My research incorporated the top 10 Vatican must sees as well as other areas I wanted to visit plus we used some of the Rick Steve’s info.  Of course that is St. Peters Basilica behind me.

Some museums have a dozen or more rooms. So we knew to head directly to Room VIII in the Pinacoteca Museum ( housing things from the middle ages to the 1800’s in chronological order ) in order to see Raphael’s masterpiece, ‘ The Transfiguration ‘.  This was his last work before he died and it is said to be one of the most iconic paintings in the Vatican Museums.  If you want more information about this or other photos below please check on your own as time does not allow me to be your tour guide.

We are in the Pinecone Courtyard named for this 13 foot high bronze pinecone which dates back to Ancient Rome, 1st century BC.  It is flanked by two bronze peacocks.

The Laocoon is a sculpture group from 30BC.  It was found in 1506 on the Esquiline Hill in Rome.  It is housed in the Pio – Clementine Museum and is also said to be one of the most important pieces of art in the Vatican collection.  The sculpture depicts a Trojan priest Laocoon and his two sons losing a battle with to the death with two sea serpents.  This would be a good one to look up as it relates to the Trojan War when the Greeks leave a giant wooden horse outside the gates of Troy.

The Apollo Belvedere is a marble Greek sculpture from around the first century BC.  It was once considered the ideal of classical male beauty.  I prefer my own piece of human art 🙂

The Porphyry Basin set in the Rotunda Room.  Its circumference is 13 meters/forty feet.  About 2000 years ago Nero ordered a special bath for his Domus Aurea/Golden House.  Someone had to go to Egypt and get this giant rock from the porphyry quarry and haul it back to Rome and carve it.  Now that is an awesome bathtub.

As we walked along we did look at many other things but I am just sharing what we think were highlights.  We are now in the Gregorian  Egyptian Museum.  Lovely gold bracelets.  There were also gold perfectly round wedding bands, beautiful brooches complete with clasps, chariots, etc.

But the highlights were the mummies.  Sarcophagus of Imhotep, 26th Dynasty ( 664 – 525 BC

He still had finger nails.

As well as hair.  An amazing collection.

We are now in the Tapestry Hall.  The tapestries on the right were made in the 17th century and the ones on the left such a this one were made in the 1500’s.  Each of these tapestries, made of wool and silk and gold and silver thread, took years to make by the best weavers of the day who were from Flanders or Belgium.  This particular tapestry is called ‘ The Resurrection of Christ “.  As you approach it and look at Jesus’s eyes and keep walking all the while watching his eyes, you will see that his eyes have followed you as you walked left to right.  The masterful stitching provided a moving perspective.  Definitely one of the top ten in the Vatican must sees.

The Gallery of Maps Hall and its beautiful ceiling.  This hall contains the largest collection of geographical paintings ever created.

These wall – size maps depict Italy and Italian provinces and were commissioned by Pope Gregory XIII in the 16th century.  The maps are well detailed and amazingly accurate considering when they were made.

We passed through the Papal apartments of old, the Pope lives in another wing.  Here we are in the Raphael Rooms looking up at ‘ The School of Athens ‘.  This is one of the most famous paintings in the Vatican Museums besides Michelangelo’s painting of the Sistine Chapel ceiling. The painting is fantasy gathering of the greatest philosophers, mathematicians and thinkers from classical antiquity.  They are all together in one painting even though they came from different places and different moments in time.  Raphael had fun with this painting and as he used the faces of Plato, Aristotle, Leonardo Da Vinci, Donato Bramante, Euclid and Raphael himself.   Michelangelo was front and center in the purple coat, brown pants and his working boots leaning on the desk.  The others are barefoot or in sandals but Michelangelo is wearing his signature leather boots.

The Basilica has a very long and interesting history.  There are so many pieces of art inside that I just can’t mention them but it was very moving to be there. The dome that Michelangelo started working on in 1547 when he was 71 is above the dark brown alter in the middle background.

He never saw his design completed as he died in 1564.  The dome is the tallest in the world at 136.57 meters/448.1 feet.

As we were heading to St. Peters Square we saw some guard activity.

We ended walking in circles trying to find a specific restaurant that I had planned for us to dine at but it was no longer there.  We walked a bit without finding anything appropriate.  Finally I decided to just eat anywhere as we had to sit, drink wine and eat.  Guess who has sore feet?  The pizza was good as we both ate it all.  What better have for ones birthday while in Rome 🙂

I was still chilled which is why we sat inside but we were still able to enjoy the very good music that those on the patio were enjoying.

Reluctantly we got up and and began our walk to the nearest Metro station. Cute little  enclosed patios set up here and there.

I bought myself a bracelet for one euro which I have actually worn a lot.  Still four more blocks to the Metro.