It is truly a wonderful sight although it was distracting being jammed into the chapel with hundreds of others. The stories that we were told about different parts of the paintings give the work a whole new meaning. We walked around in a bit of a daze because there was so much art and beauty around us, it was really hard to take it all in. Truly magnificent. From there we moved on to St Peters Square and lined up to enter The Basilica. We thought we would take a look at the cupola first. 5 euro and take the 882 steps up or 7 euro and take the lift and 331 steps up. We paid our 7 euro and off we went.
The elevator took us to the base of the dome where we could see down into the church. WoW! We were so high. The artworks there are all mosaics and beautifully done. We then proceeded up the steps. As it got higher the steps became more narrow and the walls of the out dome sloped in so we had to climb with our body at an angle. The final flights of steps we used a rope as a handhold. We then stepped out onto the top of the cupola to see Rome and the Vatican city at our feet. It was amazing. The walkway went right around the top of the dome and it was very crowded. We were able to get great views and pictures of the Vatican complex and all around. After lots of photos the climb down was much quicker and easier than the climb up and we came down and into the church itself.
The size of the building is immense. In the 1st century AD, the site of St. Peter's Basilica hosted the Circus of Nero and a cemetery. According to ancient tradition, St. Peter was martyred in the Circus and buried nearby. His simple grave was remembered and visited by the faithful, and in 324, Emperor Constantine began construction on a great basilica over the tomb. The shrine of St. Peter is still the central focus of the church today.
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| The map room of the Vatican. |
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| Inside St Peters Cathedral |
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| The view of St Peters Square from the Cupola (Dome) |
In the mid-15th century it was decided that the old basilica should be rebuilt. Pope Nicholas V asked architect Bernardo Rossellino to start adding to the old church. This was abandoned after a short while, but in the late 15th century Pope Sixtus IV had the Sistine Chapel started nearby.
Construction on the current building began under Pope Julius II in 1506 and was completed in 1615 under Pope Paul V. Donato Bramante was to be the first chief architect. Many famous artists worked on the "Fabbrica di San Pietro" (as the complex of building operations were officially called). Michelangelo, who served as main architect for a while, designed the dome, and Bernini designed the great St. Peter's Square. Truly a magnificent structure. We got out in time to catch the last bus back to the hotel. Last day in Rome tomorrow. So much still to see.
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| Part of the Popes garden |
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| The Vatican Guards |
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| The museum ceiling at The Vatican |
The guide we had was a young chap who was very knowledgeable so we had a very informative tour of the Vatican museums. He left us at the entrance of the Sistine Chapel. The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel was painted by Michelangelo between 1475 – 1483. It has the exact dimensions of the Temple of Solomon, as detailed in Christianity's Old Testament: 40 feet wide by 130 feet long. Pope Julius II requested that Michelangelo repaint the ceiling in 1508. (Three years earlier, the artist had been summoned to design the pope's tomb.) The ceiling originally had a blue sky with golden stars. The artist agreed and spent most of the next four years creating one of the world's artistic masterpieces. The pope wanted to see paintings of the 12 Christian Apostles; the result was more than 3,000 figures.
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| One of the many ceilings at the Vatican Museum |
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