After a so-so day yesterday, with the horses of the Trevi Fountain up to their fetlocks in foam, not being able to escape from the Coliseum, and automatic teller machines that eat debit cards, we arose this morning with high hopes.

And we weren’t disappointed.

We caught the Metro to the Vatican (1.50 Euros each) and met up with our tour group.  Our guide, Catherine, is a qualified archeologist, a charming, knowledgeable and witty young American woman now living in Rome, first took us through the myriad rooms and buildings which comprise the Vatican Museum.  This museum houses some of the most fabulous artworks, sculptures and tapestries in the world.  Raphael, Giotto, Bellini, Caravaggio, Angelico, Lippi, Reni, Van Dyck, and Michelangelo and of course Leonardo da Vinci  are just some of the names whose works of art grace the walls and floors (and ceilings) of this most opulent of palaces.

Raphael in the Papal audience ante-room.

Raphael’s portrait concealed in the
bottom right of the above work.
Looking at the viewer

All that glitters is gold – really – 24 carat !

The Vatican has to be seen to be believed.  My attempts at describing what we saw are pathetic and totally inadequate.

And the piece-de-resistance?   Michelangelo’s  “Pieta”, a sculpture which, after being seriously damaged by a deranged tourist with a hammer some years ago, which has now been restored, now resides behind bullet-proof glass.  She’s absolutely beautiful, and was carved by Michelangelo when he was only 23 years old.  It is the only work that he signed.  After completing the sculpture, it took him a further 3 months to polish the marble so that it glows.  You can almost hear what the Pieta is saying as she looks down at her dead son who is cradled in one arm, with the other arm outstretched in a gesture of utter sorrow – “oh, my beloved precious boy, what have they done to you …”

The Pieta. A miracle in marble.

We had some lunch, and then Pete went to climb to Michelangelo’s dome, while I went into the Basilica again, to have a second look (and another quiet weep) with the Pieta, and a walk through one of the myriad catacombs under the Basilica where many Popes are interred.  A team of archaeologists excavating beneath the main altar came upon layer on layer of previous altars, built one over the other over the ages.  Now of course it is caped with the altar we see today.  The mood in this catacomb was enhanced beautifully by a recording of Gregorian chant.

Oh, and did I mention the Sistine Chapel?  Awesome, but not as large as I expected it to be. The ceiling was cleaned and restored only a couple of years ago, so we were able to see the vibrant colours without all the grime, and smoke damage from candles over the ages.  It was packed with tourists of course, but we
were fortunate enough to find seats and were able to enjoy this incredible artwork in comfort.   I expected to see sparks fly between the fingers of God and Adam in that most famous of Michelangelo’s frescoes, as God reached forward to endow Adam with his soul!  (Sadly they didn’t!)

Pete commented yesterday that there were no tall buildings in Rome.  We found out why today.  A Papal decree from the 15^th century states that no building in Rome is allowed to be higher than St Peter’s Basilica, and that decree still stands today.  No Catholic cathedral in Italy is allowed to be bigger or taller than St Peter’s Basilica either, although judging by the ones we’ve seen (in Venice particularly), they got as close as they possibly could without defying the decree.

The view from the
top of St Peter’s

Not sure what we’re going to do tomorrow.  It depends on the weather which is still overcast and glum, although humid and quite warm.  We hope to have a coach tour to Pompeii one day, we’re just waiting for a sunny day.

Pete’s turn to blog tomorrow.

Lots of love to Marissa, Ella and Luca from Nanna and Poppy xxxxx

Ilze x

PS – Rick, we have your rosary beads, purchased in the Vatican, as promised.  Photographic proof will be provided!

Tina, how’s your knee?  We hope that you are improving in leaps and bounds.  I’ll race you around the block when I get back ??