Vatican and Sistine Chapel - " The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection" - Michelangelo

Photos: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2286474&id=11832732&l=f57064c993

Today we visited the Vatican, which although is close to Rome, is technically a separate nation. We joined a tour group which allowed us 'priority' access to the lines (didn't have to wait as long, and we got in sooner than we otherwise would have). We started off in the Vatican museum, which is the second largest museum in the world; only the Louvre is larger (so on this trip I have been inside the two largest museums in the world).

One of the first things we saw in the museum was a replica of a marble carving by Michelangelo (we saw the original later, but it was behind bullet proof glass due to an 'incident' years prior, more on that after the story); the only one which has his name explicitly carved into it. It is a funny story about how this came to be. Originally, artists were discouraged from signing works meant for the church; it was a "sin of vanity" to do so. Michelangelo did not originally sign the sculpture; he was present at the unveiling in the Vatican, and he hid behind a column to hear what people thought of his work. He was infuriated, since the people were impressed by the sculpture, but were saying that it must have been carved by someone else, since people from Florence lacked the skill it would have taken to carve such a masterpiece. Michelangelo was mad enough that he broke into the Vatican that night (a crime punishable by death) and carved his name into the sculpture, something along the lines of "this sculpture was carved by michelangelo the florentine". However, since he was rushing and nervous due to the penalty if he was caught, he accidentally misspelled his name and had to go back and add in some letters, cramming them into the small spaces where he could fit them. In the morning, people were furious about what he had done; the only reason he was not executed was that the Pope pardoned him, saying it would be a sin to kill the creator of such a work of art.

Anyway, the reason it is a replica is that several years ago the actual version was on display when a mad man burst into the room where it was displayed. He yelled something to the degree that he was Jesus, and that "that woman was not his mother". He then took a hammer and starting striking the statue, getting in 5 or 6 hits before being restrained. The statue was damaged, with pieces going everywhere. Eventually, it was successfully reassembled, and put on display again in St. Peter's bascilica, but it was displayed behind bullet-proof glass so no one else could damage it again.

Further along in the museum, we saw an influential sculpture which was the first to convey emotions of the subjects in it; agony is clearly visible in the face of the man being attacked by snakes. It is considered important because it is the first work to have done so; presumably, it was copied by others and led to more realistic sculptures.

We also saw Nero's bathtub, which is a giant bathtub made out of Imperial marble. It is a red colored marble, and only one source was ever discovered; hence the emperors claiming it for themselves. It is priceless as a result; since all that was available has been consumed and used (although there are rumors of a second vein possibly being discovered). The tub is thus one of, if not the most expensive objects in the museum.

We then hurried to the Sistine Chapel, because of preparations for Easter, the basilica at the end of the tour would be closing early and our guide wanted us to get there in time to see it. The Sistine Chapel was amazing - the pictures you see of it can't possibly capture the true beauty of the images in the ceiling and walls. The chapel had been 'fogged up' by centuries of candles and fires accumulating soot on the ceiling. A firm offered to finance the refurbishing of the ceiling (a 'mistake' you could say due to the eventual cost being in the millions). As compensation for their money/effort, they were granted exclusive rights to the images, which is why I have no pictures of the inside (although I probably could have taken some if I wanted to; I didn't feel like risking getting caught).

We then finished the tour and went inside St. Peter's bascilica. It was a very impressive building, although I really wish I could have been there for Easter and had a mass there. The building is very ornate, and decorated with great skill, a true testament of the skills given by God to the artists who worked on it.

After leaving the Bascilica, we walked out into St. Peter's square (which is actually a circle if you look at it from above), and I took the chance to take a picture of the Papal apartments, where the pope lives and speaks on Weds. (we decided to do the Vatican today instead of yesterday because of that; a lot of people would have been here yesterday to see the Pope and it would have been even more crowded). I would have liked to have seen the Pope in person, but it was not that big of an issue to risk the extra crowding and risk not seeing the other things we wanted to see due to crowds.

We then walked to Castel Sant'Angelo, a castle connected to the Vatican by a wall with a secret passage in it; if the Vatican was ever sieged, the Pope and his court could escape to the fortified castle nearby. Originally, it was a mausoleam for Emperor Hadrian, however, it was adapted to be a papal fortress, and a few Popes used it as their private residences. It was a very impressive castle.