The Vatican Museums

Treading the Vatican Museum hallways

(Sami here) I am not one much for bucket lists, but I always wanted to experience the Sistine Chapel. To that end, we signed up for an "after hours" tour of the Vatican Museums. Of course we were not allowed to take photographs in the Sistine Chapel, plus, early on in our tour my camera battery run out, so the tour was experienced mostly through the lens of my eye and not my camera. We did see a lot of incredible things; halls lined with beautiful maps from ancient times, sculptures, paintings, jewels, mosaics and furnishings. I do not think any of it can be adequately captured in pictures or words anyway. Having said that here are a few photos of our journey.

The line was long and our time was short, so we did not go in to St. Peter's Basilica

Our guide told us that these halls were meant to demonstrate the Church's power and wealth to rivals. I guess!

Mosaics have always been fascinating to me. Tiny pieces of stone and other hard material set in mortar to create patterns and pictures that endure for eons. The Vatican has preserved some of the most beautiful.

Seeing the overwhelming number of valuable things and fantastic masterpieces makes me think about the history of the church and of its worldly power and dominance. Sigh. What does that have to do with religion? "A lot" says a little voice in my mind. During the entire trip we saw many, many things that were religious. They were commissioned and acquired by popes to adorn their rooms and to evangelize and illustrate religion to the public.

On every surface sat fascinating sculptures and objects. It would take weeks and weeks to soak it all in. Of what significance is a cherub eating a cluster of grapes sitting on a goose?

We spent a good half hour in the Sistine Chapel. Since it was "after hours" it was not crowded, just us and the cleaning ladies. It was a wonderful experience. The art of making a fresco is interesting. The pictures must be carefully planned in advance because applying the color to the wet plaster is a rather spontaneous thing. The material drys fast and there is not a lot of chance to re-work anything. Rather like water color. Such a lot of power and beauty in that room, thanks to Michelangelo.

I pulled this off the Web; one of the Prophets Michelangelo painted in between the window arches. It excites all of my cells.