Visiting The Vatican - A Photo Tour
Join me for a curated tour of my visit through the museums of Vatican City.
With the conclave1 in session just concluded and the masses gathered in Rome, a bonus article about Visiting the Vatican seems appropriate.
In January of 2022, my son and I took trip to Rome and The Vatican. We toured 17 of the 26 Vatican museums and spent a few minutes inside the Sistine Chapel.
As I share some of our journey with you today, I hope you enjoy the tour. 8^)
My son and I had fun figuring out the e-Scooters to tour the city.
On the Tiber River, Castel Sant'Angelo behind me.
St Peter’s Basilica at the end of the road.
A small military presence was visible at all major tourist sites around Rome, but the Swiss Guard was unseen inside Vatican City.
Vatican City is the fortress behind me.
Their wall is impressive.
Main Visitor Entrance: Vatican Museums
The “Full English” looked legit.
I could see the visitor entrance while enjoying my Cappuccino.
The gardens were immaculate, and mostly closed to tourists.
Rome from a Vatican balcony.
Me, an earpiece so I could hear our live tour guide, and some stone dude with a cool beard.
As I recall, many fig leaves were added long after the original works were created.
This picture does not do that bird any justice whatsoever.
The hallways themselves are works of art.
Random alcove in a hallway.
According to our tour guide, those eyes are maintained to reflect a more accurate depiction of their original design.
Each museum was marked by the ornamentation over its entry doors.
The tapestry work was mind-blowing.
For more on the tapestries, this article has some cool pictures and insider commentary:
The word gilded comes to mind.
We paused at this map of Venice and traced our walking route from two days earlier. :)
I stopped at this painting.
I don’t remember its story, but I think I was still staring in awe long after our tour guide finished telling it.
This statue moved me unlike anything else on the tour.
This video of the Room of the Immaculate Conception2 captures the scene.
The room was incredible.
The detailed craftsmanship truly exemplified the soul of human expression.
The artwork adorned every facet of the décor and was somehow more impressive than anything yet…
… yet …
… standing there…
… the statue stole the show.
Our guide also told this story, but I was too absorbed in the image to recall anything she said.
Finally, it was time to enter the Sistine Chapel.
This simple piece stood alone at the entrance to the chapel. It set the tone well.
We didn’t take any pictures inside the Sistine Chapel.
If you would like to explore that space, this link makes me feel like I’m standing there again: Hi-Res Interactive 3D Sistine Chapel
We stayed in the Sistine Chapel for 10-15 minutes. It was not crowded but it was a little busy. Several benches scattered along the walls were mostly full of people who looked like they had been sitting there for a while, taking it all in at their pace.
I tried to be as present as possible.
The official conclave photo gallery contains many pictures from inside and around the Sistine Chapel taken after conclave preparations began.
https://www.vatican.va/content/photogallery/en/eventi/conclave-sistina.html
This display was just after the Sistine Chapel, next to the gift shop. :)
The tour was moving, memorable, and humbling - truly a bucket list day.
Thank you for joining me on my first photo journey. I hope you enjoyed our unscheduled detour to something a bit more lighthearted than our typical fare.
I invite you to add a comment below if you would like to share your thoughts on the ongoing conclave or anything mentioned in the article above. I’d love to hear your thoughts and yap some more about this little adventure, so feel free to chime in. :)
Thank you again for stopping by. I look forward to seeing you Saturday. Until then…
Take care,
- jofty 8^)
Official news on the Vacancy of the Apostolic See .
From the Vatican Museum Website:
https://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en/collezioni/musei/sala-dell-immacolata/sala-dell-immacolata.html
Room of the Immaculate Conception
Following the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception by Pius IX, which took place on 8 December 1854, the pontiff decide to celebrate the event with a cycle of frescoes.
The large room adjacent to the Raphael's Rooms was chosen, and the task was assigned to Francis Podesti (1800-1895), a painter originally from Ancona but rooted in the Roman artistic and academic panorama. The artist, along with his team of workers, worked on the commission from 1856 to 1865, planning it and following its execution in all its aspects: the wooden doors and window frames and the inlaid marble work, as well as the installation of the Roman mosaic from Ostia Antica, purchased specifically for this space.
The pictorial decoration proceeds from the ceiling, with allegorical scenes alluding to the virtues of the Virgin; it continues along the northern wall with the homage of the continents to the Church enthroned; it continues on the west wall, devoted to the Discussion of dogma in St. Peter’s Basilica, and concludes on the east wall, with the Coronation of the Image of Mary, an event following the Proclamation, which took place in St. Peter’s. Podesti, who was present, included a self-portrait here.
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