Today we are heading to Vatican City. This morning we’re touring the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica, and early this evening we are singing for Mass at St. Peter’s. I’m thankful to be feeling 100% again today.
Our same local guide from yesterday, Linda, meets us at the hotel and rides with us to Vatican City. Once inside the Vatican Museums, I realize I’ve been mistaken about what these are. I’d thought these would be museums about the Vatican and the history of the Catholic Church, with relics and historical artifacts and documents from across the church’s 2,000-year history. Instead, the museums house the Vatican’s collection of art—sculpture, paintings, maps, tapestries, etc.—collected across the ages. Given the age, wealth, and influence of the Vatican, it’s a pretty great collection. We walk through entire rooms dedicated to particular types of sculptures, long corridors lined with giant tapestries or intricate maps of Italy, and several courtyards where popes of old wandered or reclined.
While outside in one of the courtyards, our guide explains the art inside the Sistine Chapel, since guides are not allowed to explain it once we’re inside. There are large placards scattered throughout the courtyard for precisely this purpose. Linda tells us that Michelangelo famously painted the ceiling featuring scenes from Genesis along with his Last Judgement on the far wall, while the walls were painted by other masters years earlier. We examine the placard showing the ceiling and the Last Judgement as Linda points out their curiosities, including some of Michelangelo’s signature details and the faces of some of his detractors on their way to Hell.
Our winding tour through the museums leads us into the Sistine Chapel. We’re not allowed to take photos inside, but I can’t resist discretely capturing a few snapshots. It’s a little overwhelming inside, since nearly ever inch of every surface is painted with a colorful biblical scene. Don’t get me wrong, these are masterpieces, but t’s like I don’t know where to look. I spend most of my time admiring the Last Judgment and trying to soak up this place where popes are elected. I wish we’d learned about the election process in a bit more detail; this is one of quite a few areas where Linda falls short for us, but there is just a ton of stuff to look at and go over here. It would probably take days or weeks to fully appreciate all that the Vatican has to offer, but we’re doing it in less than a day.
From the Sistine Chapel, we head into St. Peter’s Basilica. Entering the basilica for the first time is a special moment; it’s mesmerizing. The best adjective I can use to describe St. Peter’s is BIG. And gold. (It’s the largest church in the world, of course.) The dome itself is five stories high. The apse is at least as large as our churches at home. Each of the side chapels is massive and ornately decorated, many with popes buried within. We don’t spend nearly enough time in here, which makes me glad we’ll be returning this afternoon for Mass. I capture as much as I can on my camera to admire and remember later. Much too soon, Linda escorts us out. I’m irked at how little time we’ve gotten inside before needing to move on to lunch.
More irksome still, we zip outside St. Peter’s square to show the group our mid-afternoon meeting point without so much as a glance at the piazza. I immediately rush back inside the courtyard for the rest of our free time (about 45 minutes) to walk around and just soak it all in. I get some great photos, especially once I take out my zoom lens. I’m glad to have this time to explore the square by myself; I wish I’d had this time to be inside the basilica, too.
I head to our meeting point outside a large souvenir shop. I’m early, so I head inside and pick up a couple souvenirs for my family since I’ve been pretty lax about souvenir shopping up to this point. (Souvenirs just aren’t always important to me; I like photos and memories.) Once the group has assembled, we walk through an underground passageway to a surprisingly nice parking garage where our buses are waiting. For lunch this afternoon we’re going to Trastevere, the area, literally, “across the Tiber.” It’s a quieter, more authentic neighborhood with lots of restaurants and cafes along small side streets and miniature piazzas.
A group of eight of us (most of the usuals and a few fresh faces) find a family-owned restaurant called Mario’s that is offering a three-course lunch special for 16 euro. Dollar for dollar, this is probably the best meal of the trip for its value. We start with red wine and bread, then I have a first course of spaghetti al pomodoro (with tomato sauce), a second course of pork steak, and tiramisu for dessert. It’s all delicious. Strangely, this is the first time I’ve had spaghetti during the entire trip.
We wander around the neighborhood a bit looking for coffee, then wait for a little while back in the square close to where the buses will meet us shortly. There’s a footbridge that I step onto briefly for views of the Tiber, though the view from here is nothing special.
We bus back to St. Peter’s square, where we stand in line for about 30 minutes to get back in the basilica. Once inside, we have another 15-20 minutes to explore and use the restroom before getting set for our performance at 5:00pm Mass. Somehow we’re able to fit the entire choir in the small space near the organ clearly made for a choir half our size.
We sing Angele Dei before Mass, Hodie Christus Natus Est and the Prayer of St. Francis during, and There Is No Rose after. No doubt this is one of my favorite performances of the trip. I spend the entire Mass looking around at the gorgeous basilica and marveling at the fact that I got to sing here in my lifetime. This is a memory I’ll cherish for a long time.
On the way out, I squeeze in a few more minutes of exploring and picture-taking. The inside of the basilica takes on a warmer glow after sunset without the intrusion of natural light. Cari and I are seemingly bringing up the rear of our group on the way out of the basilica and back to the bus, but when we get to the parking garage, we realize Miranda is missing. There are a few minutes of panicked waiting and searching before we are able to get in touch with her, and soon enough she is back on the bus and we’re on our way. Evidently Miranda was behind Cari and me and we didn’t know to look for her as we were leaving.
I meet up with Micah, Emily, Ted, Lauren, and Sylvia (Kattner) for supper. We stop at a kebab shop just down the street from the hotel. It’s delicious—a combination of flavors I haven’t had in a while since it’s not pasta or pizza (think barbecue meets street taco). We also top at a grocery store so I can grab some beer and wine. Then we hang out for a while back at the hotel, drinking and talking. It’s a lovely evening with friends to conclude a day spent admiring the wonders of Vatican City.
