YESTERDAY’S SIX MILES SEEMED LIKE A STROLL in the park compared to today. Vatican City is three miles from our hotel and we added another four miles—yes four!—just walking around the Vatican and through the museums, a total of ten miles. The Bramante Staircase was a welcome sight—for a while I thought we would never get out.
It doesn't look that far away
Saint Peter's Square
The Man with the Keys
At last, the way out
Our first visit to Saint Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel was on a freezing February day in 2012. There were no lines, we didn’t need reservations and the cost was minimal. Today everything must be pre-booked to avoid the hideous lines and—surprise!—prices have soared.
Hallways of Marble heads
Fighting our way through another tour group
Paying €27 for a guided tour of St. Peter’s seemed like a lot of money just to skip the two-hour wait in line for free entry to the Basilica. However we had no issue with paying for another look at Michelangelo’s seminal work, the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. But first we had to cover miles of religious art, tons of marble statues and acres of woven tapestries, dodging tour groups before we reached the Sistine.
There's always time for Carvaggio
Leonardo di Vinci's "St. Jerome"
How did he get in here? Matisse
We have seen more than our share of religious art but will always stop for a Caravaggio or a work by Leonardo, even a nice mosaic. But I’m not sure why Matisse and—gods forbid—Salvador Dali are included in the Vatican collection.
Too much to take in, Sistine Chapel
Sistine Chapel
Once inside we were packed like sardines and admonished by the guard to keep silent—as if one could help it the presence of such beauty—but it didn’t ruin the experience. As Connie remarked, though, there is just so much going on in the artwork that it’s impossible to take it all in—not in the time alloted, anyway. I think my account of our first visit pretty much still holds true. Back then I wrote:
God Creating Adam
Not yet 30, Michelangelo considered himself a sculptor, not a painter, when he was coerced by Pope Julius II to decorate his personal chapel. During the four grueling years it took to finish the ceiling the artist and the pontiff had a love/hate relationship. But the world is a better place for the result. The main part of the barrel-vaulted ceiling shows the artist's interpretation of stories from the Genesis, "In the Beginning...," the most famous scene being God creating Adam. The colors today are as vibrant as when Michelangelo painted them thanks to a restoration in the 90s.
The Last Judgement
Twenty-four years after he completed the ceiling, Michelangelo was back at work in the Chapel, this time at the bequest of Pope Paul III. The aging artist now had to paint "The Last Judgement" on the wall near the Pope's altar, a job that would take another four years. Not only had Michelangelo's style changed, so had his perspective. Now it's a case of "Jesus is coming and this time he's really pissed." One thing that didn't change was his dedication. Every brushstroke on each of the 300 figures on the fresco were done by Michelangelo himself. You may have seen photos of Michelangelo's masterpieces in the SistineChapel, but this is one thing you must actually experience first-hand. It may not change your life or make you a religious person but seeing the Sistine Chapel will possibly make you more human.
From journals.worldnomads.com/vagabonds February 8, 2012
