Rome – August 6, 2024

Last updated on December 7th, 2024 at 06:45 pm

[This is a rough draft to get started. We’ve done a lot of traveling so far, and are behind in sleep, so we’ll keep this updated as we have a chance. When this isn’t here anymore, you’ll know that we’re finished with the page!]

Photos from Rome – Aug 6

Video from Rome – Aug 6

Today we are touring the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica. We decided to take a taxi as the Vatican is a 39 minute walk from our hotel. To catch the taxi, we left the room too early for breakfast to be delivered to our room. The front desk attendant wasn’t at the desk yet, but the croissants had been delivered, so we grabbed one for each of us on the way out the door. There is a taxi stand across the street from Largo di Torre Argentina, the ruin our hotel room overlooks. We stood at the taxi stand for several minutes then noticed the taxis seemed to be stopping across the street near the ruin. We walked over there and were soon able to get a taxi. Driving or riding in a taxi here is not for the faint of heart! Our taxi driver drove fast, wove in and out of traffic and stopped fast. We reached the Vatican area safely, in plenty of time for our tour.

Even at 8 am, the Vatican area is CROWDED! Joyce thought there were a lot of people at the Colosseum yesterday, but they were spread over a larger area. We were early, so we walked around the couple blocks around our tour meeting place. When is was near time for the tour to start, we checked in and were told to stand in a line near a building on the side of the terraced area that was the meeting place. There were several different tour companies. Our tour company had several tour guides and they gathered us into groups around the various guides from our line. We followed our tour guide to the entrance to the Vatican Museums. There was a long line waiting to get in so we walked quite a ways just to get to the end of the line. It was literally a zoo getting in, lots of jostling as tour groups tried to stay with their guide through multiple security and ticket checks . Our guide from City Walks was very good and experienced. She had us stopping for the toilet and getting water, etc, leading us to good photo spots. Actually, I don’t think we have had a bad guide here in Rome or in Venice. All spoke understandable English were very knowledgeable and personable. All have been very aware of my knee and walking issues, kindly finding me places to sit, checking in when a elevator was available, etc.

  Before touring the Vatican Museums, we stopped on an outdoor patio/courtyard area for orientation. The dome of St, Peter’s Basilica was in front of us, to our right we overlooked a sculptured garden area. To the left were several large exhibit boards with information and displays of sections of the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Since our guide is not allowed to talk and we are not allowed to take pictures in the Sistine Chapel, our guide used the exhibit boards to tells us more about the Sistine Chapel.

The Vatican Museums are large with many rooms. We learned the Vatican officials tell tour operators which areas of the museum are to be toured. The first area was the Pinecone Courtyard, named for the large bronze cone at the top of a double sided staircase designed by Michelangelo. Surrounding the courtyard are large niches, big enough to walk into with various sculptures. We then made our way through the museum corridors and halls. The mass of humanity touring with us moved slowly, sort of like a human river. We toured the Gallery on Tapestries, with tapestries on one side depicting the life of Christ and on the other the life of Pope Urban VIII. On to the Gallery of Maps with its ornately decorated ceiling and beautiful fresco painted maps of Italy showing Italian regions, the Italian peninsula, the neighboring Italian Islands and Papal territories. We also the Gallery of Statues and Hall of Busts and the Lapidary Gallery with over 3,400 ancient inscriptions on slabs, urns, and altars, creating a unique stone library. Within the Lapidary Gallery in the Sala Rotunda, inspired by the Pantheon, with colossal statues and intricate 3rd-century mosaics. The centerpiece is a massive red porphyry basin, with a circumference of 13 meters.

We exited the Vatican Museums and entered the Sistine Chapel. Joyce cannot describe what we saw in any way that would do it justice. Here is a website to visit: https://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en/collezioni/musei/cappella-sistina/storia-cappella-sistina.html. We were not allowed to take pictures. There was an area in the middle and to the right where people were allowed to stand while quietly looking at and contemplating the frescos on the walls and ceiling and the intricately tiled floor. On the left Vatican officials kept an aisle for people to continue walking. Occasionally, someone would raise a camera and take a picture. They were admonished, but not made to delete the picture. On one end of the chapel was a marble wall across the width of the chapel. In it was a doorway and gridded openings like windows on either side of the door. Beyond the marble wall was a smaller space where our tour guide waited for us.

 After the Sistine Chapel, we continued to St. Peter’s Basilica. This is a massive building with statues, paintings, multiple large domes, an intricately tiled floor, and a majestic golden, ornate main alter, The Altar of the Confessio. As with the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica is almost indescribable, so I’ll let our pictures show what we saw. The basilica was began in 1506 and construction lasted over a century, through twenty pontificates. It was completed when the façade was erected between 1608 and 1612. We were unable to see The Pietà of Saint Peter’s or The Tomb of St. Peter as they were covered due to renovations in preparation for Jubilee next year.

 Our tour ended at the front of St. Peter’s Basilica, facing St. Peter’s Square. We exited onto the square, a large area where people stand to receive the pope’s blessing.  Very large Doric colonnades, four columns deep, frame the trapezoidal entrance to the basilica and the massive elliptical area in front. We exited out the right side about half-way down the side. We were directed to a taxi stand, and took a taxi back to our hotel. This taxi driver was a more sedate driver.

We made a short stop in our hotel to cool off while Alan purchased tickets online to visit the Pantheon. The directions given to Alan online were confusing, which led him around the square in front of the Pantheon searching for the place to pick up the audio tour equipment. After walking several blocks around the area, he finally found the place, only to be told the audio tour equipment was picked up inside the Pantheon! This made us about 15 minutes late entering the Pantheon, but we were able to use the tickets without incident. The Pantheon is one of the best-preserved of all Ancient Roman buildings in large part because it has been in continuous use throughout its history. The present building was completed around 128 AD during the reign of Hadrian and became a Catholic church, Basilica of St. Mary and the Martyrs in 609 AD.  It was constructed as a temple dedicated to the Gods and became the burial ground for several important people, including famous artists and kings. The building is round with a portico of large granite Corinthian columns under a pediment. A rectangular vestibule links the porch to the rotunda, which is under a coffered concrete dome, with a central opening (oculus) to the sky. Almost two thousand years after it was built, the Pantheon’s dome is still the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome.

After our visit to the Pantheon is was late afternoon and we were hungry. Alan saw a restaurant with good reviews on Yelp nearby, so we decided to try to find it. We had the google map on our phones, identifying several landmarks around us, but were unable to find the restaurant. We saw Maxela Roma and thought it looked good. We opted for indoor seating for the chance of a little air conditioning. We shared a tomato bruschetta, with Alan choosing Fettucine Alfredo and Joyce choosing a pasta dish with rigatoni and pancetta for main course. All dishes were very good. Joyce splurged and ordered a peach Bellini.

We walked the few blocks back to our hotel, and began packing up for our departure tomorrow. After packing and watching some Olympics, we decided to go out in the early evening for gelato, one last time. We have walked by several Grom Italian Gelato shops in our days in Venice and Rome, so decided to try it. The girl working in the shop was friendly and gave us suggestions for her favorite flavors. Alan chose a chocolate and raspberry cone and Joyce a lemon and raspberry cheesecake cup. Both were very delicious. We will miss Italian gelato!