Monday, May 21, 2018

Relax, art and faith in Italy

My trip to Roccamare this year was a relax short vacation after the all the efforts that went into organizing the European Regional Alumni Congress the week before. 

Resort Roccamare

The food, the venue and the people were amazing as the years before and I enjoyed it very much.

Great people

Delicious food

This year, I came earlier and stayed longer - spending two nights in Rome at Beatrice‘s and Andreas‘s place. On my third time in the eternal city finally visiting the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museums. On earlier trips, there were always long queues holding back spontaneous urges to visit. So this time I booked a tour already Thursday night to enter on Monday and it was already difficult to get a place. I finally decided for the tour „Faith and Art“.

Crowded entrance to the Vatican Museums

With my printout ticket, I could enter the lobby of the museum on the fast track, then went through the security check and got my final entrance ticket and tour meeting point from a special counter.

Views in the Garden:

View from the Gardens to St Peter's Dome

fountain statue

fountain face in the Pigna courtyard

A nun conducted the tour with us and started explaining about the Sistine Chapel, the artists and the the art already in the lobby on a big digital screen as the Chapel is quite crowded, you should be quiet in there and the guards not only make sure you don’t take pictures but also compliment you out if you stay too long. According to the guide it’s less crowded on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

our guide in the Gallery of Maps

 The Vatican museum feature tremendous amounts of art, statues, paintings and more.

Belvedere Apollo in the Octagonal Court

Venere felice - the happy Venus in the Octagonal Court

gilded bronze statue of Heracles

Painting in the Gallery of the Candelabra

At the end of our tour through the museum, we entered the Sistine Chapel where the conclave elects the pope. As they are closed off from the outside world, they show their result with burning the voting cards in a little chimney that is brought in only during the conclave. Black smoke means no candidate received the necessary majority, white smoke means a new pope has been elected - “Habemus Papam”. The current pope Francis was elected in the 5th ballot, while his predecessor Benedict XVI was already chosen after 4 ballots.

last photo before the Sistine Chapel, no more photos inside

The Sistine Chapel is in large pieces of Michelangelo who painted the ceiling (including the famous Creation of Adam scene) as well as the fresco on the sanctuary wall displaying The Last Judgement. Other famous contemporaries decorated the other walls.

We finished the tour with a visit to St. Peter‘s Dome, the Pietà and many saints. Three hours of art, faith and walking these historic halls gave a lot of food for thought.

Pietà by Michelangelo 

Altar piece in St Peter's Dome

St Peter's Square and Dome

Afterwards I roamed the streets of Rome from the Vatican City to Piazza Venezia having a nice Italian lunch in between. Then I collected my luggage to return to airport and then home.

streets of Rome


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