Our second full day in Rome was devoted mostly to Vatican City. Again we took a tour because we really could have been overwhelmed with all there was to see, so our guide took us to the major sights and taught us a few things we never would have known.
In the Vatican Museum, the church gathered some of the greatest art from not only it’s time, but also great ancient greek and roman statues and fountains. At one time, the Pope had Michaelangelo painting the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel while Raphael was painting murals on the walls of the Pope’s residences, they would walk through the ancient sculpture gardens for inspiration for their own works that you could actually see very clearly.
The Sistine Chapel was a very emotional experience for me. I studied it in college and I don’t think I ever thought I would actually ever see it in person, yet here it was, more awe inspiring than I had ever imagined. Jason had to pry me out of there and as we descended the steps out, I had to work hard at keeping myself from sobbing. It was indescribably moving.
Jason was most impressed by Raphael’s room where he painted mural after mural, room after room, telling us stories and giving us history lessons.
St. Peter’s Basilica was nothing short of jaw dropping. It was huge and impressive – as was the creator’s intention.
We left Vatican City and saw a few more sights in Rome and walked around marveling at this city build on top of a city and just couldn’t get our heads around just how old “old” can be.
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