A Roman adventure - part 6

After a dramatic thunder, lightning and rain storm in the night Laura's fourth day in Rome dawned bright and almost clear of clouds.  After breakfast she took a bus to the Vatican.  The queue for St Peter's Basilica was already starting to stretch across the square, however it only took 30 minutes from the time of joining the queue to getting into the church, which was a lot quicker than it would have been the previous afternoon.

St Peter's Square, Vatican City

Laura in St Peter's Square, Vatican City

Laura was glad it wasn't too crowded in the square.  She had dressed smartly for this visit, and was wearing a Vintage Sasha coat over her Union Flag sailor dress

Inside a side chapel in St Peter's Basilica was the very famous Pieta by Michelangelo

Michelangelo's Pieta was quite magnificent but was sadly behind bullet proof glass after a previous attack on the statue

One of the side domes in St Peter's with very detailed frescos, mosaics and gold leaf

Laura was overwhelmed by the number of side chapels, altars, paintings and sculptures in St Peter's

 One side chapel was reserved for quiet prayer, with no photos allowed (it was behind a large heavy curtain).  Laura did go in there, it was called Cappella del SS.Mo Sacramento Vaticano and you can find photos of it on the internet.

In the nave Laura gazed in amazement at the canopy and altar over the tomb of St Peter

The canopy over the tomb of St Peter was very high and richly decorated

Laura took a photo of the detailed decorations on the canopy

This dove and rays of light were over the high altar in the distance behind the canopy 

The underside of the immense dome of St Peter's was decorated in great detail with gold leaf, mosiacs and carvings, it looked amazing with the light shining through the clerestory windows

Laura saw the altar in the chapel which was only used for weddings, she took this photo through the closed gate.

The organ and choir stalls in the wedding chapel - there was a lot of gold

St Peter's Basilica is the largest church in the world, Laura felt very small as she stood in the nave on the marble floor, some of which once decorated the buildings of the Palatine hill and the Roman Forum.

After visiting St Peter's in the Vatican Laura bought a ticket for the Vatican Museums so she could visit the Sistine Chapel.  On the way to the famous chapel she saw lots of interesting Roman and Christian art in the long corridor.  Her favourites were the Roman mosiac and a large tapestry.

A Roman mosiac with still life, found in the Villa of Numisia Procula on the Via Ardeatina (Tor Marancia).  Laura loved the fine detail of the still life, all done with tiny stones contrasting with the bold border of black and white stones. 

Laura felt very small compared to the huge tapestry showing the ascension of Christ

Laura was really disappointed as she was not allowed to take photos in the Sistine Chapel of the famous ceiling paintings including God giving life to Adam, or the High altar wall showing the Last Judgement, both painted by Michelangelo.  The chapel was crowded, the guides not very friendly and whenever the quiet talking of the crowd raised above a certain level the guides shouted 'silencio' from a loud speaker which instead of preserving the preferred contemplative atmosphere of a chapel destroyed it.  The paintings by Michelangelo, Giotto and others were amazing but the experience was disappointing and Laura was not sad to leave the Sistine chapel.

On her way back through the Vatican museum Laura saw this golden model of a church

 After lunch in the Vatican cafe, Laura found her way out to the one part of the Vatican garden which was open to the public.  It was beside the Vatican Art gallery building which was only built in 1932 to house the incredible art collection of famous and not so famous works which belong to the Vatican collection.

The Vatican Art gallery

Laura was pleased to be out in the fresh air in the garden

She had her photo taken with the dome of St Peter's in the background

Laura took a photo of the dome of St Peter's from the Vatican garden

Laura in front of the Vatican Art Gallery

Even the outside of the Vatican Art gallery was richly decorated

Inside the Vatican Art Gallery Laura was able to get up close to a plaster cast of the Pieta

In the Vatican shop Laura bought a couple of gifts for friends. After leaving the Vatican, she walked all the way to the Spanish Steps.  The real Spanish Steps were unfortunately under scaffolding and not accessible to the public, however in a restaurant around the corner Laura discovered a mural of the Spanish Steps.

Laura admired the Spanish Steps in Rome

The mural of the Spanish Steps was covered in flowers, so Laura took her coat off as it felt like summer

There was even a model of the boat shaped fountain in front of the mural of the Spanish Steps

Laura enjoyed her pizza in the restaurant then put her coat back on and walked all the way back to the hotel for another well earned rest.  It had been a fascinating day at the Vatican.

(see also Part 1 of Laura's adventures in Rome and Part 2 when Laura visited the Palatine Hill, Part 3 when Laura explored the Roman Forum, Part 4 when Laura discovered the Colosseum and Part 5 when she explored the narrow streets of Rome)