Today was a blast. We had our last day of class, which was bittersweet, but also meant that we had more time to explore Rome with the following days. Margaret and Chloe showed me this rad pizza place during lunch, and it was a shame I didn’t visit it earlier! It had some of the best pizza I have ever had.
We visited St. Peter’s again shortly after. (I don’t think I officially took back what I said about it being “smaller than in pictures.” The outside, maybe, but the inside dwarfs you.) We saw some things we didn’t get to see on Tuesday, such as the embalmed bodies of Pope John XXIII and Pope Innocent XI, as well as a whole hall of tombs for deceased popes underneath.
The Vatican Museum had to be the most overwhelming place we have been to yet. So much art from so many artists filled the place, and a great deal were well-known. Our tour guide was very nice, never speaking too much or too little. I was shocked and entertained to learn that the main reason Michelangelo painted figures on the Sistine Chapel naked was because the pope refused to pay him. His works are very passive aggressive, placing a critic of his in Hell and having the pope hold up his skin, as if he had him working away his flesh. The marble works all had their distinct charm, many of which I have read about in textbooks, some of which looking like famous folk from the last century, like Bill Clinton. A peculiar structure within the museum is a large basin made of volcanic rock. This was the bathtub of Nero’s wife. The huge bathtub would be filled with donkey milk for the Empress to bathe in, for it was said to smooth the skin. This is impressive because even today, cutting a meter of volcanic rock could take an hour.
The ceilings on the hall to the Sistine Chapel is the most impressive paintwork I have ever seen. I had to ask the guide whether they were actual carved ornaments or really good paintings! Needless to say they were paintings that served their purpose of perspective trickery quite well. I saw my favorite painting, The School of Athens, in the museum, to which I can say it lives up to its fame.
After going through the Sistine Chapel, which, needless to say, was breathtaking and the epitome of Michelangelo’s genius, we went to dinner. At the Vatican Courtyard was a buffet. It certainly was the time to be alive to be given this opportunity: to dine at one of the holiest sights in the world. We went to an exhibit of Ancient Egyptian works shortly after. The whole museum was immense, the largest museum in the world next to the Louvre in Paris. I cannot fathom what it must be like over there. Looks like I have my next travel destination in mind!
