Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel

Day 12 - When I think about the Vatican, I think of the Sistine Chapel (and Michaelangelo's renowned frescos on its ceilings), and St. Peter's Basilica. I had no idea there was a vast series of public Vatican Museums that display works from the immense collection amassed by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries. The collection includes a number of the most famous Roman sculptures and most important masterpieces of Renaissance art in the world.

With over 9 miles of museum space, we barely scratched the surface of what can be seen, but what we did see was impressive!

"The School of Athens", by Raphael, a fresco dating from 1509–1511, located in the Apostolic Palace, Vatican City

The Fire in the Borgo, another fresco by Raphael, who was so revered for his artwork, he is actually buried in the Pantheon here in Rome! There are four rooms in the Vatican Museum dedicated to him (the Stanze di Raffaello), and the walls in those rooms are covered in his frescoes!

The Belvedere Torso

In addition to the statues, paintings, frescoes and tapestries, the ceilings of the museums were works of art in and of themselves!

The statue collection is one of the most extensive in the world!

Of course, the big attraction for this tour was the Sistine Chapel...the personal chapel of the Pope, the place where new Popes are elected, and of course it's famous paint job!! Michaelangelo was commissioned (and actually asked not to be paid) for the frescos done on the ceiling of the Chapel, which were completed between 1508 and 1512. These frescoes are regarded as one of the major artistic accomplishments of human civilization.

No photos are allowed in the Sistine Chapel, so here's one I found online:

Yes, the artwork is amazing...revolutionary! And now we can say we've seen it with our own eyes! Unfortunately, the experience itself wasn't as reverent as we had expected or hoped.

For perspective, on any given day, as many as 30,000 tourists—six million a year—line up to see the Sistine Chapel (and I believe that is a pre-covid figure...remember tourism is at a peak right now due to pent up demand)! The chapel itself isn't that large (especially not compared to the cathedrals we've visited) and they can fit about 2,000 people in it, all of who are also straining to get a glimpse of that revered ceiling, and being moved along with the crowd. There was one bench row along one wall, but that was the only place you could have taken a seat to contemplate what was before you (with a steady wall of people's bodies within a foot of your face). And we were warned ahead of time that you can't speak when in the chapel...out of respect. That would have been great, but with 2,000 people in a room, it was anything but silent.

I was glad to see the Sistine Chapel, but I can tell you I was happy to get out of that hot, sweaty crowd and move on to other things in Rome. I hope I don't get struck down for thinking this, let alone writing it down!!

Regardless of that last bit, the Vatican Museums were phenomenal!

We made our way out and into St. Peter's Square, which is just magnificent. Entry to St. Peter's Basilica is free, but the line was VERY long (remember what I said about post-Covid travel!) and it was very hot!

We sadly decided to skip going in and went to get lunch and a nap instead!

We've gotten very used to the Italian custom of strolling in the evening and stopping for an Aperitiv (drinks and appetizers). Our neighbors on Kerley Lane might question our sanity when we get home and start doing the same thing (maybe Tiff and Travis will serve us appetizers each night!).

Our group with Mimmo, at the Birra (bar) right across from our hotel, the Famo Pace!

Tomorrow, we visit the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palantine Hill! We can't wait! We also got "skip the line" tickets to visit St. Peter's Basilica tomorrow afternoon, so we'll return there for the inside view!

Tours: Semi-Private Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel - by City Wonders

Step Count: 16,013 steps or 8 miles