After today’s tour of the Vatican, I have four words of wisdom to share: Skip the line tickets. The Vatican has 20,000-30,000 visitors each day. Unbelievable! Our skip the line tickets allowed our tour guide to take us immediately into the Vatican for our tour. In addition to saving time, this kept us cooler because we didn’t have to wait in line outside. The Vatican is crowded with visitors, it is not air-conditioned, and Rome is hot in the summer–especially during a heat wave like Ted and I are experiencing on this trip.
The architectural curve of the Vatican wings is intended to symbolize God’s loving arms enclosing and protecting His people. Look closely to see the tight line of people against the entire length of the wing and going beyond it on the right. The line we could see was easily a half-mile long with scant shade, and extended out of our sight on the right. It was a very slow-moving line and did not visibly move forward while we watched. Those people do not have skip the line tickets.
The center window balcony on the second floor is where the Pope stands to address the people in St. Peter’s Square.
I’ve seen St. Peter’s Square on the news and in pictures, but it looks much larger in person. No wonder up to 300,000 people can be there when the Pope speaks.
The fence in the foreground is the international boundary between Italy and Vatican City.
The Swiss Guard is an honor guard that protects the Pope. Since the failed assassination of Pope John II in 1981, a much stronger emphasis has been placed on the Guard’s non-ceremonial roles. They now complete advanced training in unarmed combat and small arms. Members of the Guard must be unmarried Swiss Catholic males between the ages of 19-30, and must have completed Basic Training with the Swiss Armed Forces.
The Guards’ uniforms are Renaissance-themed. They are not allowed to move while on duty (except in an emergency, I assume), and consider it a great honor to serve in this role.
The Vatican museums contain one of the most important art collections in the world. The collection includes roughly 70,000 works of art, with 20,000 pieces on display. The four Raphael Rooms comprise a suite of reception rooms in the palace (the public part of the Vatican), and are famous for their frescoes that were painted by Raphael and students in his workshop.
This is a fresco painted by Raphael’s students.
This fresco was painted by Raphael. Notice the greater intensity of the colors–an identifying characteristic of Raphael’s work.
Renaissance artists did not sign their work. To identify this fresco, Raphael included a self-portrait. He is the young man with the black head covering, immediately to the right of the man in the gold robe.
The painting effects in the museums are amazing. Like the decorated wall below the painting in the picture above, this wall decoration is not three-dimensional. It is a flat painting on the wall surface.
Similarly, this museum ceiling is also a two-dimensional painting.
This ceiling, however, is three-dimensional.
The Gallery of Tapestries and Geological Maps is a highlight of the Vatican museums. There is a series of tapestries on one wall depicting stories of Christ’s life, beginning with his birth and ending with his resurrection. Maps of all the known continents were on display, as well as some of specific countries and regions.
This map shows Sicily.
Our Vatican Tour isn’t over, but there’s too much to include in a single blog post. There’s more coming.
