Today was our final class day, at one of the most impressive universities I’ll ever have stepped foot in.
It’s no surprise us kids were a little excited about our last day of class and looking forward to full days out in the Italian air. I know Challenger was surely looking forward to some outside time!
We experienced quite a bit the previous day, visiting about four places of worship. There are as many churches around Rome as there are McDonalds around America; and all of them are jaw dropping.
The Basilica of Santa Cecilia was my favorite one that day. It had a mural painting of Jesus and saints standing in the grass, which Jill informed, that it was supposed to allow the people to feel a little empowered by it. To know that Jesus and saints were in the grass, on the earth, made people feel like the same could be achieved by them, that Jesus and the saints were closer to them, and they could feel a closer connection to them. That concept was the reason it became my favorite church of the day (I should have really made that a segment in my daily journals. There are so many churches to choose from, I could’ve easily chosen a ‘CHURCH OF THE DAY’).
Today though, everyone was stoked for our night tour at the Vatican Museum! We left class with a lot of time to spare, so Mr. Hesting and Dr. Stark treated us to a day on the town.
I finally went shopping and bought some goodies for family and friends (woohoo!), and Sara-Kay and I loaded up on gelato (her more than I because she’s serious about this competition).
After about an hour of shopping and gorging, the crew headed back to the hotel for a much needed nap time.
Jill was meeting us at 6:45 pm, and we wanted to be alert for the tour.
When it was time to meet up, we met our Vatican museum tour guide Rich. He was an equally lively spirit, very enthusiastic about the Vatican.
His excitement made the Vatican that much more enjoyable.
We were allowed a four hour tour, but that would never equal enough time. The museum is massive, filled with centuries of relics and stories and JUST SO MUCH!!!
There were so many different influences from paganism religions, Egyptian culture, and Greek religion/culture.
It was so much to take in, in such a short amount of time, and I want to go back to get through the entire thing. We did however get to enter the Sistine Chapel which was….nothing short of breathtaking. It’s becoming incredibly difficult to put Italy’s beauty into words.
My eyes landed first on The Last Judgment. There was so much going on, it was impossible to comprehend in one sitting. The Last Judgment is a work of art, by the Renaissance master Michelangelo. It is the depiction of the Second Coming of Christ, and the final and eternal judgment by God of all humanity. The souls of humans rise and fall to their fates, as judged by Christ surrounded by saints.
And my eyes couldn’t be pulled from Michelangelo’s self portrait. (He had the skin of his former self dangling from someone’s hands). It’s a theory that Michelangelo had been depressed during the time of this painting, because before he had portrayed himself as a beheaded man. (These are just proposed theories. Either way, his creations were still magnificent.)
I couldn’t capture the Sistine Chapel either because it’s a rule, but trust me when I say it was un-be-lieeeevable. My little brother’s toy matchbox Dodge Challenger enjoyed it just as much as I did.
Until next time,
Drive safely 🙂