Vatican City
Sistine Chapel

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    • Day 4

      La Basilique Saint Pierre

      September 9, 2018 in Vatican City ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

      La plus grande Basilique du monde. Époustouflante.
      Trop de chances, on n'a même pas eu la file !
      On a même vu une entrée de messe avec le Cardinal de Rome.
      Et cerise sur le gâteau on a vu le Pape pour l'Angelus du dimanche midi.Read more

    • Rome

      October 8, 2021 in Vatican City ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

      We landed in Rome, rented a car and went directly to Vatican. We had an appt to see the Sistine Chapel. The chapel was as incredible as I imagined. Another amazing surprise was just how huge and breathtaking Vatican museum is that leads to the chapel. Incredible Rafael fresco rooms and a huge hallway of medieval maps. We rented audio guide but it was long and not very engaging. Instead we should have listened to Rick Steve’s guide on his app.Read more

    • Day 247

      Vatican

      December 6, 2017 in Vatican City ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

      So for some reason neither of us put on an alarm. First time that's happened lol
      Luckily we got up just in time.
      Or really a little too late to bother figuring out the train and/or metro. We decided to just get a taxi because there was no obvious direct route there.
      Very pleased with our driver - he used the meter and took a direct route. It even came in €3 under the lowest estimated price.
      12€ all up.
      The most expensive part was waiting to get out of the damn taxi bay because it's at the station and person after person kept walking in front.

      He dropped up pretty close - we had to just walk the straight line towards it.
      So many annoying people trying to get you to book a tour I ALREADY HAVE A TICKET DAMN IT.

      The annoying people did serve a purpose though - they directed us to the entrance which was a 10 minute walk from St. Peter's square which I didn't realize.
      Once we found the entrance I had a memory flashback.

      We paid an extra 4€ each to skip the line which turns out to have been a complete waste.
      Not a single person in front of us. We walked straight in 😪
      In summer the line was ridiculous so I guess better safe than sorry.
      We went through security checks, collected our hard copy ticket and entered country number 27✌🏼

      Signage was crap - no idea where to go - we ended up in an Egyptian artifacts room. We skimmed a lot of it but there was a exposed mummy body so that was cool. I also liked the statues because they different from European ones.

      I found it interesting that they talked of other gods. I know it's a museum but it still is the Vatican.
      Cool thought.

      Essentially the museum was just a shit tonne of statues.
      There was a corridor though which I want to have a sleepover in.
      I just want to put a mattress on the floor and look at the ceiling for hours. It was beautiful 😭😭😭 the corridor also had maps lining the walls.
      Once again a roof was my favourite part.
      We walked and walked and walked through rooms until we finally got to the Sistine chapel.
      I'll be straight to it. Not even slightly as nice as the corridor. Still cool to see. Took another illegal photo like I did last time.
      Will was surprised by it. He thought the finger touchy bit was the whole thing and that it was going to be really big and in a dome.
      Nope.
      It's just not as detailed as some. Still obviously fantastic but it was like half the lines were smudged.
      The room was very crowded.

      We walked through more corridors holding stuff from jewelry, old globes to what I think was a sewing machine.

      We were hungry so we left and went and got food. To enter straight through to St. Paul's basilica you had to be part of a tour and as we weren't that meant we had to join the line outside boo.

      But first, food.
      Wills was delicious except for the fragment of glass he spat out....
      lol

      Joined the line and it took maybe 30 mins to reach security.

      Honestly, you would think 99%+ people visiting would have been through and airport before. And yet every second person had to go through the gate 3+ times.
      TAKE YOUR COINS OUT OF YOUR POCKETS YOU IDIOTS.

      They also only had 3 boxes to hold peoples bags as they went through the scanner so that caused some time delays too.

      Into the chapel we went.
      It's the biggest in the world.

      The colour scheme is actually quite boring. But walking around you start to absorb all the hidden details.
      Very nice.
      The roof is super high.

      The apostle peter is buried there. I remember I encountered the same problem last time I visited - I couldn't see down into the staircase/crypt from behind the barrier.
      Of course Will could 😒

      A few popes buried around the place.
      We just went in the free areas. Skipped the paid spots.
      We poor hahah

      There was a nun praying and it made me happy.

      Very nice 👏🏼👏🏼

      Walked to the pantheon.
      I remembered in school we all got yelled at inside by a worker because we were too loud.
      It's free too - but boring.. not pretty to look at. A big dome with a checkered roof. It was a pagan spot then got destroyed and rebuilt and converted.
      It's 2000 years old though so that aspect is an A+.

      A few men dressed in gladiator outfits outside made it fun.

      We then walked to the Trevi fountain to see it again.
      I bloody love it.

      Big walk home and I think I might have some blisters coming.
      The perils of new shoes eh?

      Chilled at the hostel then went across the road for dinner.
      AMAZING bruschetta but they tipped themselves... 😒😒

      Gave away a lot of money today 😩 this morning a lady approached us and said her bag was stolen and could we help her - she was British, we though she was gonna ask for directions when we stopped to help.
      As I am unable to say no I gave her 2€. I hope what she said was true.

      At the hostel now.
      Keen for tomorrow!!
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    • Day 87

      Vatican City: Popes and Priests

      October 24, 2017 in Vatican City ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

      The day before visiting the Vatican City we attempted to make our way to see the Pope, but after the ordeal of taking two trains and a bus overflowing with people, a perfect playground for a frotteurist, we decided to abort the trip – probably not something that would be condoned by the papacy. We quickly withdrew upon seeing the lines waiting outside the Vatican Museums and the hordes of ticket scalpers harassing us as we weaved our way to the end of the queue. Again, we're fairly sure the withdrawal method, while apparently a popular technique, wouldn't be supported by the Holy See.

      The following day, it was take two, with a slight variation on a theme. Once again the trains and buses were crammed with people. This time the platform at the metro was so packed that people were in such close proximity that normally people get to know one another first or at least buy a drink before getting into these positions. Not to mention that the health and safety department in Australia would have gone into overdrive if they had witnessed the events of people getting crushed by the closing train doors. After missing two packed trains, we eventually made it onto a train headed for the Vatican City.

      We finally arrived in the Vatican City and were confronted with the queue for Saint Peter's Basilica. The line trailed around the entire square and, after an hour and a half, we made it inside. People filled the room gawking at the opulence on display. Crowds were lined up to file past the statue of Saint Peter and rub his feet. Perhaps they have a foot fetish!

      The Vatican City was swarming with tour groups blocking the paths and generally imposing themselves on everyone else. Tour groups are the modern phalanx, warriors who are the frontline mowing down everything in their path. Fortunately this breed of tourist is only interested in ticking off sites listed in their Lonely Planet guide (tick-box tourists) and we were able to find some respite in some of the less popular museums. The reprieve from the tour groups was only short-lived as we braved the Sistine Chapel. Like herding cattle, we were ushered into the chapel to witness the work of Michelangelo. While we could appreciate the workmanship of the great artist, we were left underwhelmed, unlike the jaw-dropping statue of David.

      The Vatican City is comparable to Disneyland in way ways, with its merchandising, commercialism and long queues. The only difference is that the rides are basilicas and museums and there are no fast passes to skip the insane lines. Shops surrounding the city-state selling icons of saints reek of iconolatry, but all you need to do is confess, pay an indulgence and you will be granted absolution.

      Next stop: Ostia Antica
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    • Day 2

      Vatican City, Italy

      October 3, 2017 in Vatican City ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

      What a bustling place Rome is, the tourists don’t seem to mind waiting in the mile long queues at all the popular sites. Thankfully we decided to do the Hop on Hop off bus with a skip the line guided tour of the Vatican, Sistine Chapel and Saint Peter’s Basilica. The guide, an Art Historian, was brilliant. We walked through the Vatican Museum and Papal Apartments of Pope Julius II at a slow walk with the guide commenting as we went, there were so many people crammed inside you often got caught up in another group or lost altogether except for the sound of her voice in your earpiece. It was a very full-on 3 hour tour.
      The Vatican City has only 230 residents and in an area of 44 hectares. During Pope Julius II time he commissioned the painting of the Sistine Chapel ceiling by Michelangelo and various rooms in the Vatican by Raphael and this is what we viewed today. The artwork and details just blow you away. The fresco art lasts so long as it is painted fresh when the mortar is still damp, that way the colour becomes part of the mortar. We had a talk about the Sistine Chapel before entry as there is supposed to be silence and no photography. Quite amusing to watch the sneaky photos being taken and when the hum from the floor becomes too much you hear over the loudspeaker SILENCE, the voice sounded just like Dumbledore from Harry Potter. We then were taken to the Basilica, what an amazing place, everything is enormous, the Papal Canopy and altar stunning. What a wonderful day. We finished this off with gelato and Fritto and Pasta for dinner.
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    • Day 2

      Vatican Museums

      May 20, 2022 in Vatican City ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F

      This museum is absolutely incredible and has many, many exhibits from all over the world. It was impossible to see everything. I was fortunate to have a guided tour because everything feels very mixed together - you take one turn and the art changes centuries and continents with no warning. I especially liked seeing the work of famous artists like Michaelangelo, Raphael (my new favorite artist, was also a great dude), Dali, Van Gogh, and even Francis Bacon. There was also a large section of 16th century maps of the Italian region (not yet Italy, but apparently these maps were one of the first written references to the area as such) that are incredibly detailed and amazingly accurate. Of course I loved that part! There was also a postmodern exhibit of the artist Jean-Michel Folon that I really liked, it was a bit dark and not what I expected to see in the Vatican. The Sistine chapel is also in the museum which was so amazing to see but unfortunately you can’t take pictures of it. It was a bit weird because they say it is too holy to take pictures but then they make you walk through like 5 gift shops to exit it… strange.
      One of the coolest aspects was Raphael’s “apartment” where he was in residence and painted all of the walls. Originally it was thought that he did all the sketches and his pupils did the coloring. But it was recently discovered - like, literally a few months ago in late 2021 - that two of the figures were painted completely by Raphael. Not sure how they figured that one out. So I got to experience that a little differently than most people who have visited before. Cool little fact.
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    • Day 15

      Vatican on speed

      June 19, 2017 in Vatican City ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

      So we had 2.5 hours until checkout. Taxi there was 10 minutes. But the line to get in was 2h long. We waited for 20m but finally succumbed to the hucksters offering "skip the line" passes.. but then the entry line for those was 40 minutes long. Oh, and a very large bird pooped on us both. I mean LARGE. And well fed. And maybe sick based on the rainbow palette. Yuck.

      So, we wound up getting in with 30m to go. Because our objective was the Sistine chapel, we basically ran through the museum tour, which was surprisingly difficult since the route loops back on itself and there are several ways to get there.

      We finally got to the chapel with -5 minutes to spare. Good thing the hotel didn't mind too much due to the problems we had with our rooms.
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    • Day 6

      Capella Sistina

      May 31, 2017 in Vatican City ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

      There are no words. Absolutely stunning.

      On the ceiling and walls of the chapel are the beautiful works of Michealangelo that took 4 years to complete (1508-1512). This is arguably one of mankind's greatest artistic achievements, depicting various scenes from the Christian bible.

      Today, the Sistine chapel is the site of the Papal conclave (where the new Pope is selected).

      Fun fact: Michealangelo allegedly preferred sculpting over painting, and had to be coerced by Pope Julius II with a lucrative commission of sculpting 40 massive figures for the Pope's tomb in return for taking on the Sistine chapel.

      🌍🛫📝: Rick Steves
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    • Day 1

      Sistine Chapel, Rome, Italy

      May 18, 2017 in Vatican City ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

      Monday, May 29, 2017

      In the spring of 1509, just two years after a mapmaker coined the word “America” in honor of the explorer Amerigo Vespucci, a fellow Florentine named Buonarotti was beginning to work on one of the defining masterpieces of Western Civilization. His first name—Michelangelo—would also reverberate through the ages. And, like many of the early transatlantic voyages of discovery, his ceiling frescoes in Rome’s Sistine Chapel had gotten off to a terrible start.

      “He was working on the largest multi-figure compositions of the entire ceiling when the actual fresco plaster itself became infected by a kind of lime mold, which is like a great bloom of fungus,” says Andrew Graham-Dixon, chief art critic for London’s Sunday Telegraph. “So he had to chip the whole thing back to zero and start again. Eventually he sped up. He got better.”

      However difficult the conditions—and even the challenge of painting at a height of 65 feet required considerable ingenuity, with scaffolds and platforms slotted into specially fashioned wall openings—by the time Michelangelo unveiled the work in 1512, he had succeeded in creating a transcendent work of genius, one which continues to inspire millions of pilgrims and tourists in Vatican City each year. The Sistine Chapel holds a central place in Christendom as the private chapel of the pope and the site of the papal enclave, where the College of Cardinals gathers to elect new popes.

      Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-…
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    • Day 18

      Visite du Vatican

      October 20, 2019 in Vatican City ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

      Wow toute une journée aujourd’hui encore une fois. Levée tôt ce matin pour être certain de trouver l’endroit de rencontre avec le Guide et le groupe. Je dois avouer que ce n’est pas facile d’après les indications plus ou moins précises de l’agence de Guide. Mais j’avais fait mes devoirs la veille pour être (préservatif) auprès d’une jeune fille Italienne qui parlait très bien français. Au debut tout le monde demande de quel endroit on provient, le reste du groupe est de la France sauf nous, je m’assure de préciser à notre guide que les vrai français c’est nous, inutile de dire que j’ai eu droit à des regards, rires et remarques mais j’avais déjà fait ma marque sur le groupe.

      Après les consignes d’usage et certaines informations pour nous dire que plus de 25,000 personnes visitent le musée du Vatican et que l’on était chanceux car aujourd hui il n’y avait pas beaucoup de monde et que la température était au rendez vous. Ce matin la température est fraîche mais devrait se réchauffer en cours de route. Je vous le dis si vous voulez faire une visite du Vatican vous devez acheter vos billets coupe file absolument sinon vous aurez des attentes interminables.

      Notre jeune guide fait son travail depuis plus de 12 ans durant la visite du musée elle nous a donné des informations des plus intéressantes sur le musée et la Chapelle Sixtine. Que Michael Ange était le peintre chouchou du Pape et qu’il n’était pas un peintre à l’origine mais bien un sculpteur alors il a du faire tout l’apprentissage de la peinture pour réaliser la chapelle Sixtine. Il devait réaliser son œuvre sans déranger les activités prévues dans la Chapelle. Alors il a du inventer un système d’échafaudage suspendu et pour la majorité de son œuvre peindre couché. Le toit de la Chapelle est a 45 mètres de hauteur alors vu son manque d’expérience il a du ajuster sa façon de peindre car du sol les personnages étaient trop petits. Alors on peut voir que les personnages deviennent plus grands dans la deuxième partie de son œuvre. Faut voir pour réaliser l’ampleur de l’œuvre, malgré la restriction de ne pas prendre de photo j’ai tout de même réussi à en faire quelques unes dont la fresque très répandue et celle de Daniel et oui je suis dans la Chapelle Sixtine. aussi dans le musée il y a la salle de carte Géographique qui représente toute les régions de l’Italie, en comparant les fresques aujourd’hui avec Google maps il est impressionnant de voir les similitudes des fresques. Il est malheureusement difficile de décrire tous le musée nous avons visité une partie du musée pour le visiter au complet on aurait besoin d’ un mois tellement il y a des œuvres d’arts qui ont été données en cadeau aux Papes au cours des ans. Le musée de Raphaël est aussi intéressant car il a marqué l’art au Vatican par ses peintures et il voulait competitionner avec Michael Angelo qui lui est décédé a l’âge de 84 ans et Raphaël est décédé à l’âge de 32 ans. Inutile de vous dire qu’il est difficile de comparer les deux. Mais tout de même Raphaël voulait démontrer que lui était un vrai peintre de formation et que Michael Angelo était un sculpteur de formation. Comme vous pouvez voir beaucoup d’infos en peut de temps.

      La Basilique fut le grand coup de cœur par ses dimensions gigantesques et difficile à percevoir. En entrant à droite la fameuse Piéta exposée que j’ai pu prendre en photo mais seulement de loin du à la protection, c est vraiment triste car si je me souviens bien à ma première visite avec Yvon nous étions à quelques mètres de la sculpture. Le tombeau de Jean XXIII qui est dans la basilique est formidable. J’ai des photos de l’autel du Pape où seul le Pape dit la messe et bien pour vous donner une idée de l’immensité de la place le colombe a l’arrière de l’autel dans le vitrail mesure 1.75 mètres de hauteur, les chérubins de chaque côté au dessus de l’autel mesures 2 mètres de haut. L’autel est tellement gigantesque que le Pape se doit d’être assis devant sinon on on ne pourrait pas le voir. Nous avons eu la chance d’assister à une messe en Italien dans une chapelle dans la basilique et prendre la communion.

      Après toutes ces informations nous sommes retournés à notre appartement pour nous rafraîchir et se reposer un peu car il fait encore chaud avec plus de 25 degré alors imaginez vous avec plus de monde et la canicule de 35 et 40 degrés comment la visite doit être pénible.

      Vers 16:30 nous avons acheter des billets d’autobus On and Off pour faire un tour de ville en générale pour pouvoir demain retourner dans les coin à visiter qui nous intéresserait. Une bonne décision qui nous a précisé les coins intéressants à voir. Pour finalement finir notre journée dans le quartier Trastevere un quartier de Rome avec beaucoup de vie le soir avec restos boutiques et amuseurs de rues. Après un bon souper sur une terrasse un bon Spritz retour à pied vers l’appartement pour compléter encore une fois nos 20,000 pas pour la journée.

      Demain notre dernière journée de visite à Rome aucune idée des sites que nous visiterons y en a tellement mais sûrement la basilique St Jean Lateran et le Moise.

      Daniel L’Aventurier
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    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Sistine Chapel, Sixtinische Kapelle, Chapelle Sixtine, Cappella Sistina, システィーナ礼拝堂, Capella Sixtina, 西斯廷小堂

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