Vatican City - A Whole 'Nother World

Day 3 in Rome centered on our visit to Vatican City. We had an early start with the tour beginning at 8:30 a.m., at least for those of us who bothered showing up on time (which was most of a large tour bus full of English speaking persons). Not that it mattered since we had all day, but the looks on those who were 15 or 20 minutes late and delaying the rest of us was irritating. But not half as irritating – no, not even a third – as getting stepped on and trampled for parts of the upcoming tour.

It began in the entrance area to the Vatican which was about half the size it should’ve been for the billion people meeting there. Our guide told us that until about 10 years ago it was also the exit point. A person on the tour later confirmed that she was there 43 years ago and it was “nothing” like it is now. Not only, but particularly Asian people, seemed particularly rude. As they shoved past us with knees and elbows flying, I took to calling out as loudly as the surroundings permitted “Excuse me!” and got a few blank stares back in return. Oh well, it was fun.

The Vatican is, as you probably know, a separate country from Italy, and home of the Papacy. Not sure how many acres it covers, but it is a BUNCH just on the west side of the Tiber River. We passed through the old (Aurelian) walls of Rome built early AD to keep out the barbarians. I imagined the hordes on horses, camels, or however those barbarians “barbarized” sitting on the outside wondering how the hell to get in! Anyway, back to the Vatican and dealing with the modern barbarians.

The treasures and art were simply glorious and everywhere. A friend had remarked how the Church had certainly been the “beneficiary” of a lot of Roman conquest (I think the word he used, though, was “plundered loot”), and it was clearly evident. An example was a fertility goddess from the Middle East who was well endowed with, not breasts, but bull testicles!

Through the sculpt gallery into the tapestry gallery into the map gallery on our way toward the Sistine Chapel. The stampede was alternately frightening along with the surreal of the glorious art. I heard more than one person exclaim that if it wasn't for what we were seeing they never would do it again!

One of the most beautiful pieces was Michelangelo's "Pieta" which was protected behind a glass wall. Some crazy Italian had a few years ago gotten up close and whacked off the nose (like that other crazy Italian who dumped red paint into Trevi fountain about that time!). It was simply glorious although Cheryl said the reproduction at Christ the King where she attended school early was almost as nice. I recall our guide from yesterday saying that "Michelangelo was really a carving man" (meaning he enjoyed sculpting more than anything), and this is certainly magnificent

Finally we made it into the Sistine Chapel famous, of course, for ceiling frescoes (painting on wet plaster) by Michelangelo and a host of other Baroque artists and their teams. Vatican guards were quietly yelling “Silence” and “No Pictures”, but I couldn’t help sneaking in one of the very impressive “Last Judgment” (Brief side story – doing this in China at the Tomb of the Terra Cotta warriors almost got me arrested, so only ONE photo was snuck in here!). The Chapel is where a new pope is elected from a conclave of Cardinals, so it was a very impressive and beautiful space.

From there, outside to the attached St. Peter’s Basilica built on the spot of the crucifixion of St. Peter (whose tomb is below, but of course that’s an extra ticket for a big dollar fee!). Our guide billed it as the world’s largest church and indeed it was HUGE. This is where the Pope says Mass, and the altar was beyond description in both size and beauty. Pope John Paul (now beatified), a veritable rock star of the Papacy, had his own chapel within St. Peter’s, while most had elegant statues of themselves. Some former popes were mummified and their remains were on display – strange but true.

The tour ended outside the Basilica which opens onto St. Peter’s Square. You see it on television and hear how it holds a million-plus people, and you can see how that is so. The place where the black/white smoke announces the voting on a new Pope was shown to us, as well as the balcony from St. Peter’s where the new Pope gives his initial blessing. We even saw where he lives with his bedroom and study windows identified. And, of course, no tour is complete without ending up in the gift shop as ours did. Again, a striking contrast was seen between the beauty (and expense) of the items offered inside while outside beggars – poor and dirty – held cups begging for coins. My lovely wife, Cheryl, couldn’t resist them any more than she can the poor fellows holding “Food for Work” signs on the freeway entrance and exit ramps in Columbus. I love her for that.

So at 1 p.m. we’re dropped off the bus with a long walk up a big hill and we’re wiped out already. Time to stop for lunch which we did at a lovely restaurant. The two ladies sitting next to us were speaking English and at the end of lunch struck up a conversation with us. Both were French, and one was obviously filthy rich and kept talking to her purse from which, eventually, emerged the head of a 2-pound Maltese named Mercedes. The second woman, her sister, was also her assistant and told us that her sister Muriel – the rich one - was renting a ”little place” just up the street for 3 months and entertaining friends from the US and France. We enjoyed our 10 minute conversation with them and she even remarked in impeccable English that “You are very handsome!” so I enjoyed that immensely.

Life is great, huh?