OK. True confessions. I wasn't really excited about going to Rome. I have discovered that I am not the kind of traveler who does a lot of homework ahead of time (bad flaw, I know), and so I just didn'tow what to expect in Rome. BEsides, it is just such a big city compared to Firenze. So, I/we were really surprised about how much we enjoyed Rome. I mean, come on.... Seeing the Colloseum in real life is pretty cool.
our hotel was an shared apartment just blocks from the Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica on a walking only street called Pia Borge.
our hotel was an shared apartment just blocks from the Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica on a walking only street called Pia Borge.
I had really enjoyed the Renaissance art in Firenze and didn't think early Roman history would be that interesting, but I didn't realize how awe-inspiring it is to look at a place or art that was made 200 years before Christ. We spent our first morning exploring parts of Rome including the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain, then went to the Vatican Museum and St. Peter's Basilica in the afternoon. The Vatican museum was really interesting, but the Sistine Chapel was the highlight. I didn't realize it would be so big or that the one section where Adam and God are touching would be such a small piece of the Chapel. I thought that it would be the whole ceiling of the chapel! I have no pictures from the Sistine Chapel because the guards really monitored people.
The Vatican museum is so huge. It makes you realize the wealth and power of the Catholic church. We would walk through room after room of just statues followed by room after room of some other kind of art. The collections were huge. I have included one picture showing you about 6 rooms in succession. Another picture is some of the early male nude statues. One of the early popes was offended by the nudity, so all the male statues have been covered with a fig leaf!
i also didn't realize how big St Peter's basilica would be. It is 2 football fields in length!! One of the most important statues by Michelangelo is in it. the statue is Pieta and shows the moment when Christ is taken down from the cross and put in his mother's arms. It is a beautiful statue.
I also included a picture of a fountain by Bernini. He is a sculptor I did not know, but he is has a wonderful simplicity and liveliness to his sculpture. I will do a post on some of his sculpture.
the last picture is one of the Swiss Guards who guard the Pope.
The Vatican museum is so huge. It makes you realize the wealth and power of the Catholic church. We would walk through room after room of just statues followed by room after room of some other kind of art. The collections were huge. I have included one picture showing you about 6 rooms in succession. Another picture is some of the early male nude statues. One of the early popes was offended by the nudity, so all the male statues have been covered with a fig leaf!
i also didn't realize how big St Peter's basilica would be. It is 2 football fields in length!! One of the most important statues by Michelangelo is in it. the statue is Pieta and shows the moment when Christ is taken down from the cross and put in his mother's arms. It is a beautiful statue.
I also included a picture of a fountain by Bernini. He is a sculptor I did not know, but he is has a wonderful simplicity and liveliness to his sculpture. I will do a post on some of his sculpture.
the last picture is one of the Swiss Guards who guard the Pope.