Our day started with making sure all our luggage was out and ready to be picked up for transport to Rome!
Gathered together to walk to the train station – Elaine always has some information to part and Janeen just found out I have transport
Once that was completed, and breakfast finished, we gathered together for the walk to the train station. Nothing like high-speed train travel – zipping along at 180 kph. Once in Rome, we went directly to Basilica of San Pietro in Vincoli.
San Pietro in Vincoli is a Roman Catholic titular church and minor basilica in Rome. The name alludes to the Biblical story of the Liberation of Peter. This church is best known for housing Michelangelo’s statue of Moses, part of the tomb of Pope Julius II and hold the relic of the chains that bound Saint Peter when he was imprisoned in Jerusalem.
Ross spent some time describing Michelangelo’s sculpture of Moses. This was commissioned by Pope Julius II for his tomb in 1505 and depicts the biblical figure Moses with horns on his head based on a description in chapter 34 of Exodus in the Vulgate, the Latin translation of the Bible
After viewing the church, and hearing Ross talk about the Moses Statue, we headed to our hotel and to get ready for our trip for our private tour of the Vatican Museums
The Vatican Museums display works from the immense collection amassed by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries, including several of the most well-known Roman sculptures and most important masterpieces of Renaissance art in the world. The museums contain roughly 70,000 works, of which 20,000 are on display, and currently employs 640 people who work in 40 different administrative, scholarly, and restoration departments.
Walking through the museum you cannot but be overwhelmed with the art. At every turn there is something special – greek statues, the sarcophagus for Helena who died around 330, with her son at her side, a bacchus and Caravaggio The Entombment of Christ.
Walking through all the museum without a crowd was really a treat for sure. Along the way we say a bunch of art, statues, tapestries and other treasures of the Church.
Two highlights come to mind – first was The Gallery of Maps. This gallery contains a series of painted topographical maps of Italy based on drawings by friar and geographer Ignazio Danti. The gallery was commissioned in 1580 by Pope Gregory XIII as part of other artistic works commissioned by the Pope to decorate the Vatican. It took Danti three years (1580–1583) to complete the 40 panels of the 120 m long gallery.
Lovely maps Sardinia, Italy, Corisca and Sardinia lovely and one of Janeen’s favorite areas.
The panels map the entirety of the Italian peninsula in large-scale frescoes, each depicting a region as well as a perspective view of its most prominent city. It is said that these maps are approximately 80% accurate.
The second highlight, for me, was the Papal apartments. The walls are covered with frescos many of them done by Raphael. The first fresco that stands out is The School of Athens.
The fresco depicts a congregation of ancient philosophers, mathematicians, and scientists, with Plato and Aristotle featured in the center. Also included are Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo are believed to be portrayed through Plato and Heraclitus. Raphael included a self-portrait beside Ptolemy. Raphael is the only notable character who is looking directly at the viewer in the artwork.
Other frescos done by Raphael – Battle of Ostia, The Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple, Fire in the Borgo andThe Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple
Ok, sure there is one more notable spot and that is The Sistine Chapel.
The Creation of Adam and detail
Our access to the Sistine Chapel was as a part of a private group allow us to be in the room with just our group of 24 or so people. One of Ross Kings books is Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling and he was allowed to give us a commentary while in the space. It was really special and they allowed us to take a group photo!
After our wonderful tour, we went into the Vatican courtyard and had a lovely buffet dinner.