Artwork Overload - Rome Day 1

After disembarking from our ship we loaded on a bus for what was supposed to be a 1.5 hour ride to our hotel in Rome.  Somewhere along the way the guide who was on the bus decided we needed a city tour so our ride was significantly lengthened until another passenger on the bus said all they wanted to do was to get to the hotel. We felt the same way because Jillian and Brian were meeting us there!  We were only going to have a few hours together and the impromptu tour was cutting into that time.

After getting there and sitting through a final Viking briefing we checked into our room which wasn't quite ready yet so we stored our luggage and headed out for our 2:00 p.m. tour of the Vatican Museums.  We had a crazy taxi ride that took forever despite the short distance.  That's the dome of St. Peter's Basilica.

The museum has been around since the early 1500s and if you laid all the rooms out side by side it would be nine miles in length.

This large bronze pinecone (Fontana della Pigna) was originally part of a fountain located at the Pantheon, but was moved to the courtyard of St. Peters in the middle ages and then moved to its current location in 1608.  The peacocks on either side are replicas of those that adorn Hadrian's tomb.

There are over 70,000 pieces of art at the museum but only about 20,000 of those are on public display.

There are literally thousands of classical statues on display.  So many that it becomes completely overwhelming very quickly.  What I found very funny is that most of the naked male statues have had a fig leaf added.

I had purchased tickets for a guided tour weeks before arriving in Rome and I'm so thankful I did.  Our guide was very impressive with his knowledge.  He had to have been an art history major.  He told us so many facts about various artworks that quite frankly, it was overwhelming and I can't remember a whole lot of it.

I read that if you took a minute to look at each piece of art at the Vatican it would take over four years to see it all.

You know those climate protesters who have been trying to destroy famous pieces of art by throwing tomato soup on them and then gluing themselves to the art?  Not even the Vatican is safe.  In August they glued themselves to this ancient Roman masterpiece named "Laocoon and His Sons".  Thankfully no piece of art has been permanently damaged by these vicious attacks, but what a bunch of idiots.

Undoubtedly some Roman emperor.

Taking a break from the endless galleries.

More statues.

The hallways and galleries were lined with all these statues.  We kept wondering what was to keep them from just being knocked over and destroyed.

Even the ceilings and domes were magnificent.

Some Egyptian art too.

A child's sarcophagus.

The Gallery of Maps was my favorite next to Raphael's rooms and the Sistine Chapel.

The gold ceiling was just breathtaking.  Unfortunately, I didn't take any shots of the maps that line both sides of the gallery.  The maps were commissioned in 1580 and include large scale, in-depth fresco maps of the Italian peninsula. It took the artist three years to complete them and they are said to be 80% correct.

Then it was onto the Raphael rooms.  Above is The School of Athens.  It's a congregation of ancient philosophers including Plato, Aristotle, and Archimedes among others.  Raphael had s sense of humor because he portrayed Leonardo di Vinci as Plato and Michelangelo as Heraclitus.  This is another painting that I actually cannot believe I laid my eyes on in person.  So blessed!

All of Raphael's frescoes are bright and vibrant.  I especially loved this one with all the red.

Battle of Milvian Bridge

How is it possible to paint these ceilings so beautifully?

The Meeting of Leo the Great and Attila

Deliverance of Saint Peter

Apparently there was quite a rivalry between Raphael and Michelangelo.  Michelangelo had lost several commissions to the young Raphael who was receiving glorious praise for this art and was the apparent favorite of the Pope.  Michelangelo was working on the Sistine Chapel when the young Raphael arrived to paint the papal apartments.  If I understood the story correctly, Michelangelo didn't allow anyone to see the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel while he was working on it, but Raphael somehow snuck in to take a peek.  By painting the likeness of Michelangelo in School of Athens he was taking a dig at the grumpy old man who couldn't handle the fame and glory Raphael was receiving.  Michelangelo also had a rivalry with Leonardo during this time too.

I have to admit that by the time we finished with the Raphael rooms and were headed towards the Sistine Chapel, I was ready for the tour to be done.  It was an overload.

I would love to show you photos of the Sistine Chapel, but this was the one room where photos were not allowed.  It is the sacred Papal Chapel where among other things the Papal Conclave meets to select a new Pope.  I would have loved to have photos, but I respect the sanctity of the site.  It was wall to wall people in there and the guard kept having to come over the loud speaker telling everyone it was a silent location.

Another lifelong dream to see that ceiling.  Thank you, Michelangelo!

Then it was back to our beautiful hotel, the Palazzo Naiadi Rome, located at the Plaza República.

It was undoubtedly the nicest hotel we have ever stayed in as it should be at the price. It's nice to be spoiled every once and a while and this is what Viking had arranged for us.  Jillian and Brian were staying at a Marriott not too far away.  They had an early morning flight so we had to say our goodbyes.  At least we got to see them for a few hours.

After dinner our bed had been turned down and slippers placed on each side of the bed.  I'm not use to such royal treatment.  There was also a bidet in the bathroom.  I think most Americans probably look at a bidet and say "what the heck".  

Next post...day two in Rome.