BCers Visit Italy, Switzerland & France; Pt 8: Spirit Of Opulence & Art At The Vatican

MY WORLD LINGERS on thoughts of our recent trip to Vatican City where the body of pope Paul XXIII resposes at St. Peter’s Basilica. His waxy head donned in a red cap with white fringe made me think of Saint Nicholas. A fitting resemblance perhaps since he is said to have been very good and kind.

It is surreal to walk where great artists created their finest works and popes of days gone by rest within concrete walls or (in some cases) behind glass at the Vatican. We were glad to first stop at the Roof Garden Restaurant on site before exploring the enormous enclave of fine art wrapped in layers of history.

Getting from the entrance of the Vatican museum to the Basilica is a fascinating journey.

Along the way we saw a kitchen-table-sized golden replica (encased in glass) of what might be St. Peter’s Basilica.

There is no end to the steps one must trek or the wealth of historical artifacts one will discover in the enormous rooms and buildings.

We saw stunning religious icons embedded in stained glass along the way.

Vases were not simply designed as containers. They were lovely works of art.

Some floors were intricately tiled with great devotion.

If walls could talk, these would certainly have remarkable stories to tell.

This humble chair stood in the corner of a hallway to St. Peter’s Basilica.

A lovely old bell sat in silence as people walked by.

Scarcely seen by the public, there must be private elevators for aging popes who would have difficulty with the exhaustive hallways and stairs such as those leading to St. Peter's Square.

Although lineups were enormous and the buildings packed with visitors, the magnitude of the square at the Vatican transformed people into ants.

I suppose this is how the pope sees it when addressing the crowd.

The Carlo Fontana looked refreshing but unquenchable at the square.

The uniformed Swiss Guards reminded me of the biblical Joseph and his “coat of many colors”. However, the blue and orange-yellow hues represent the once politically powerful Medici family of the 13th and 14th centuries. Red represents the primary colour of Swiss states.

There is always upkeep to be done around statue-laden St. Peter’s Square.

Behind the pillars are the papal apartments where the pope resides. Although there are over 1000 rooms in the building, his living quarters are believed to consist of ten.

I captured a pale photograph of Michelangelo’s "Pieta" (meaning both piety and pity). The marble sculpture of Mary and Jesus was created as a funeral monument for a cardinal in 1499. It was moved to the Basilica in the 18th century where it now stands at the entrance.

There were angelic statues prettily positioned nearby.

Even the drains (pictured above by my husband's foot) were pretty. There were awestruck moments of discovery from floor to ceiling. Our Vatican experience concluded with a visit to the Sistine Chapel where no picture-taking was permitted. We stood shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of people. Our necks craned upward to view Michelangelo’s reluctantly painted ceiling depicting biblical tales. The physically challenging work began in 1508 and took some four years to complete. It is overwhelmingly large, beautiful and difficult to appreciate with the murmuring crowd that needed to be shushed constantly by priests and staff. It was easier to marvel at earthly opulence and artistry than it was to quietly ponder spiritual matters at the Vatican.

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