Italian Trip Diary -- Day #20 (part 1 of 2) -- Rome -- Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel

Monday, July 2, 2001 Rome:

Monday was Vatican day.  We got up early in order to be in line for the Vatican Museums by 7:30 a.m.   Fortunately, our taxi driver was smart enough to take us to the end of the line, which saved us about a 10-minute walk back from the entrance.  The museums open at 8:45 a.m. and we got to the front of the line about 9:25 a.m.

The Vatican Museums are vast – divided into separate areas for painting, antiquities, books, maps and archeology (at least).  Nearly everyone, though, is headed for the Sistine Chapel.  We discovered that there are at least two ways to get to the chapel, one (a longer and more crowded route) through the Raphael Rooms and one (a faster and less congested route) through the modern art galleries.  Doug and Carl took the Raphael, while George decided to try the modern art route.  The apartments in the Stanze di Raffaello (Raphael Rooms) painted by Raphael and his students are wonderful.  The frescoes in the first of the four rooms, the Hall of Constantine, were actually created by three followers of Raphael after his death in 1520 AD. 

'The Battle of the Milvian Bridge' by Giulio Romano, fresco, circa 1525 AD.
The fresco depicts the battle between the Emperor Constantine and his rival Maxentius in 312 AD.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

The ceiling of the Room of Constantine by Tommaso Lauretti  is an allegorical depiction of the triumph of Christianity over paganism with the classical statue lying broken at the foot of the Crucifix.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

The Room of the Fire in the Borgo (Stanza dell'incendio del Borgo) depicts scenes from the lives of Popes Leo III and Leo IV.  It was painted by Raphael's assistants using designs of Raphael.

'Fire in the Borgo' by Giulio Romano, fresco, 1514 AD.  This fresco depicts an event in 847 AD when Pope Leo IV (in the window right of upper center) stopped the fire in the Borgo with his benediction.  
The fresco was executed by Romano from designs by Raphael.  Photo by Blomme-McClure 

The Room of the Signatura (Stanza della Segnatura) contains the most famous of Raphael's frescoes, 'The School of Athens'.

'The School of Athens' by Raphael, fresco, 1509 AD.  This fresco shows the search for truth through knowledge.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

Still, everything in the Vatican is overwhelmed by the splendor of Michelangelo’s work in the Sistine Chapel.  This was the first time that we had seen the Chapel's frescoes since the completion of the controversial restoration and cleaning in 1994.  The difference from the mellow, smokey look we first saw in the early 1970's and the vivid look we saw in 2001 is incredible.  The brighter colors clarify the shapes of the hundreds of figures and make all of the frescoes much more three dimensional.  The panels in the Creation sequence on the ceiling seem more sculptural and the sibyls and prophets in the surrounding lunettes are magnificent -- vigorous and muscular.   

The Sistine Chapel with frescoes by Michelangelo on the ceiling, 1508 to 1512 AD,
and the west (altar) wall, 1535 to 1541 AD.  The frescoes on the walls below and between the windows are by a who's who of famous Italian Renaissance artists -- Perugino, Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, and others.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

Unfortunately, viewing the chapel is like trying to meditate in the middle of a three-ring circus.  You know that you are in the presence of great art, but you are constantly distracted by the hubbub of tourists around you jostling for position.

'Creation of Adam' by Michelangelo, fresco, 1508 to 1512 AD.  This is probably the most famous panel from the 'Genesis' series of frescoes on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Photo by Blomme-McClure

'Expulsion from the Garden of Eden' by Michelangelo, fresco, 1508 to 1512 AD.  This panel from the 'Genesis'
series seems newly vivid and three-dimensional following the 1984-1994 restoration.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

'Delphic Sibyl' by Michelangelo, fresco, 1508 to 1512 AD.  On the arches supporting the ceiling of
the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo painted in heroic scale the prophets who foresaw the coming of Christ.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

We actually circled back to the Chapel again after lunch at the Museum’s café.  While there were less crowds in the early afternoon the light on the frescoes made them seem somewhat more prosaic.  Let’s just say that they are awesome under any lighting conditions and that the controversial cleaning and restoration has left them more vivid and more exciting.  We were particularly taken by the enormous 'Last Judgement' fresco covering the entire altar wall.  

'The Last Judgement' by Michelangelo, fresco, 1535 to 1541 AD, detail.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

In addition to the Chapel, the Vatican painting collection (Pinacoteca) was also worth visiting – a lovely Raphael “Transfiguration” 

'Transfiguration of Christ' by Raphael, oil on canvas, 1518-1520.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

and Caravaggio’s “Descent from the Cross” in particular.  And among the ancient statues in in the Octagonal Courtyard of the Pius-Clementine Museum, the Apollo Belvedere

'Apollo Belvedere', Roman copy of a Greek bronze original, marble, circa 130 to 140 AD.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

the Venus Felix, 

'Venus and Her Son, Cupid' aka 'Venus Felix', Roman, marble, circa 170 AD.  Some scholars have
suggested that the placement of the arms might approximate the missing arms of the Venus de Milo.
Photo by Blomme-McClure 

and the Antinous as Hermes in the Octagonal Courtyard of the Pius-Clementine Museum are also extraordinary and beautifully displayed.  

'Hermes' formerly known as 'The Belvedere Antinous', Roman copy of Greek original, marble,
circa 2nd century AD.  Antinous was the Emperor Hadrian lover.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

Nearby, the early Greco-Roman Belvedere Torso was sketched by Michelangelo and is supposed to have inspired much of his later works.  

'Belvedere Torso', Roman copy of an earlier original, marble, circa 1st century BC or 1st century AD.
Michelangelo made sketches of this sculpture and it is believed to have inspired figures in his'Last Judgement' in the Sistine Chapel.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

You certainly sense the connection between this piece and the muscular bodies of the Sistine Chapel's 'Last Judgement' and also the unfinished Michelangelo 'captives in stone' at the Accademia in Florence and the Louvre in Paris.  

Everywhere you look there are opulent ceilings and paneling and beautiful and significant objects.

The Sistine Hall of  the Vatican Library.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

There is a lovely outdoor terrace with views of the Papal gardens and the dome of St. Peter’s which offers a respite from the sensory overload of the museums.  

View of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica by Bramante and Michelangelo as seen from a terrace of the Vatican Museums.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

We staggered out of the museum into the mid-afternoon sun and stopped along the walls of the Vatican for ice cream.

(I'll continue with our visit to St. Peter's Basilica in my next post on Italy:  Italian Trip Diary - Day #20 (part 2) -- Rome -- St. Peter's Basilica.)