The Eternal City

Monday September 24

Judy and I had been to St. Peter’s, the Sistine Chapel, and the Vatican Museums on each of our other trips to Rome, just walking into St. Peter’s and then standing in line for tickets to the Museums and the Chapel. This time, we wanted a real guided tour, and Jan signed us up for a small group tour that took us to some places we had not visited in the past. Somehow we managed to be up and ready early enough to find a cab or two so we could get to the Vatican Tour meeting point by 8:45. Unfortunately, that meant not being able to have breakfast at Eva’s Rooms, because their breakfast hours were a little later than our time to leave. In fact, we were such early birds during this part of our trip, we never did have breakfast there. This morning, we at least had a crossant they left for us the night before, but it was so meager we decided not to even ask for that on subsequent mornings.

The cab ride was uneventful, and we arrived in plenty of time to be assigned to a small group (twelve people) and meet our guide. This time the ear buds were a bright green, and we marched off into the Vatican Museums as excited as children. Even though we could skip the long line waiting for the ticket office to open, we didn’t just walk right in. We didn’t go through the old entrance, but through a new spacious gallery. There was a security checkpoint, which didn’t seem out of place once we thought about it, and then a little waiting time in a courtyard outside the new Museum entrance hall. Not a bad place to stand and wait, considering the veiw we enjoyed there.

It would be real easy to fill this page up with photos of everything we saw and enjoyed seeing that morning. But in the interest of getting on with a description of the day, and also giving you a better look at our pictures, I’ve put most of those on a separate page. You’ll find a display of thumbnails, each one a link to a larger image. If you want a photo tour, click this link and go for it. If you’d prefer to skip the photos and continue with my riveting prose, that’s OK too. Just make a selection from the list.

When we left the “gathering place,” we moved into the Belvedere Courtyard, which includes the Cortile della Pigna, identified by the presence of an enormous two-thousand-year-old bronze pine cone. We checked out the bronze peacocks (copies of originals), an Egyptian lion, and Arnaldo Pomodoro’s moving (physically moving — actually rotating) sphere within a sphere in the middle before pausing at the opposite end of the courtyard for a bit of orientation before we entered the museums. And that plural is quite intentional, believe me.

It would take days just to walk through all the separate rooms and see the different collections of the Museums, of course. Judy and I had seen some collections before that we didn’t even glimpse through a doorway this time, yet we also passed through a number of rooms that were new to us. Besides the amazing collection itself, the most striking thing to me was again the size of the crowds. In some places other groups, large and small, were moving through without slowing down. That happened particularly in the Modern Religious Art collection, where we had to step aside to avoid being swept along with a group of about 40 people. At other points, like the Sculpture Gallery, everybody slowed down a bit. Eventually, after we walked through the Sculpture Gallery, Tapestry Gallery and Map Gallery, we made it to the apartments referred to as Raphael’s Rooms. That was a part of the complex I’d never seen before, and I’m really glad we not only got to see them, but that we had such a good guide. Her commentary and direction were wonderful.

Like most people who visit, we found once again that the Sistine Chapel was worth waiting to see. No doubt the recent Papal election and attendant publicity had something to do with both the anticipation and the appreciation this time. My own reaction was really different: I remember the first time in the room, in 1980, and how surprised and disappointed I was to see the change after the restoration was complete. This time, I thought the colors were just right; either my perception has changed or ten years of tourists breathing heavily has softened the effect. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take photogrpahs in here, so you’ll just have to imagine how beautiful it is when you’re standing there.

From the Sistine Chapel we headed to the Basilica, where the enormous space itself made the crowds seem smaller. We saw all the major points that tourists usually remember, but by that time, we were all too tired to think about taking the opportunity to ascend the dome or even to visit the crypt. That gives us a reason to go back.

When the guided tour ended, we walked through the Piazza and found lunch at a small restaurant in the area. Sitting down felt really good after hours of walking! Walking along the streets in search of the hop-on bus stop, we noticed a market set up near Castel San Angelo. We had to have a look, of course, and pretty soon Judy and I were parked at a table while Mark, KC and Tori walked along the Bernini Angel bridge. Then it was back on the hop-on/off bus for a while. Mark and KC stayed on longer to re-visit Coliseum and a few other places, while the rest of us went back to the Hotel.

Take a look at these photos. It’s hard to tell the living angels from the stone ones, right?

Judy and Tori took the opportunity to put their feet up for a short time, while I walked up to the Spanish Steps. If I had been a little more careful, I probably wouldn’t have walked all the way to the top and into Trinita dei Monti. Though it really did wear me out, I’m glad I made the climb. Seeing the Rome skyline from that standpoint was worth it, I think.

On the way back to the hotel, I realized that the monument in the middle of Piazza Mignanelli, between our hotel and the Steps, was really worth stopping to look at. The Column of the Immaculate Conception probably doesn’t make the top ten lists of things to see in Rome, but it’s really impressive. Again, the crowds of tourists, milling about and checking out the 20 or so taxis parked in the Piazza, were probably more interested in the Steps than this monument. After all, I had been the same way. It’s amazing to think how many such wonderful sights are in Rome, and how easy it is for most of us to miss seeing them, even when we know they’re there.

Not too much later, we all walked to the Trevi Fountain, once again struck by the crowds. This time, though, all those people seemed to really be enjoying the place and the moment. I saw a couple tossing a coin (maybe three) over their sholders into the fountain, and in general there were more happy faces and evident good will than we had seen during the morning . I’m glad we were there when we were, because the light was beautiful, even on our faces.

KC, Mark and I then walked to Pantheon, and I have to admit, I dragged them along just because I think it’s such a remarkable building. This time I limited myself to squeezing through the crowds, getting inside, and babbling to them a bit about the structure itself. We might not have been as respectful of the place and its current use as we should have been, but no one else seemed to be either. I can’t think of many more impressive buildings in the whoe city when you consider them from the historical perspective. It survived without damage, in spite of the loss of so many contemporary structures. Crazy.

Of course, we were so close to Santa Maria sopra Minerva that it only made sense to walk down the street a bit just to take a look. Mark and I could probably spend much more time in churches looking at organs in one day than the others could manage for two weeks. This church is another of my favorites in Rome, so I wanted to take another look myself. There are two organs at the east end of the building, one to each side. The one on the south has facade pipes that are damaged, but the one on the north looks really good. I do wonder if either one is used at all, though. These days, you never know, expecially when you see electroids and consoles scattered around the perimeter of such large spaces.

Eventually this long and jam-packed day came to an end. While we were traipsing through churches, Tori and Judy had located a restaurant for us, so we once again enjoyed dining outdoors. It was a little strange being across the pedestrian street from a Burger King, but we didn’t mind once the food arrived. After dinner, we decompressed a bit in Tori’s room, with the smokers making good use of her balcony, and we made plans for getting up really early the next day to catch our train to Naples so we could visit the ruins of Pompeii!