NO way I was going to be in Rome and not go see the Sistine Chapel. You have to pay to get into the Vatican museum to do so. They have a huge collection of Greek, Roman, and Egyptian artifacts, typical religious stuff, an interesting contemporary gallery and of course Michelangelo's famous ceiling. The museum is packed to the gills with tour groups. It feels more like a rock concert than a cultural institution, but it is more than worth it for the time you get to spend in the chapel. No pictures or talking. I actually saw a guy get kicked out and then have his camera 's pictures deleted! I snuck a few pics anyway. The Colosseum may have seemed smaller than I envisioned it, but the ceiling of the chapel was much more overwhelming than I thought. Your neck hurts by the time you are done. So many details to pour over, so much beauty. It really is a modern wonder of the world. I don't think I've ever seen people react to a work of art like they did to the chapel. Everyone seemed star struck (myself included).
Shots taken from the hip of the ceiling:
Random pics from the Museum:
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| The pope-mobile! |
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| The Vatican owns and displays a Bacon? |
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| Van Gogh |
1 comment:
You did it! You got the two most famous pictures of St Bartholomew's flayed skin in Italy ...and the second one was a direct assault on the Vatican's "no pictures!" policy. (that is a mortal sin by the way)
Also, while I was also surprised to see that the Vatican owns and displays a Bacon, it IS one of the most benign Bacon's from his Pope Innocent Series and, more importantly, it's worth a lot of money.
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