The Holy See
When
told that the Pope objected to his actions, Stalin is reported to have
replied: "How many divisions does the Pope have?" The Pope may only
wield ecclesiastical power today, but in the past, the
Papal States were a major political and military power encompassing
much of central Italy. Since 1929 all that is left is the enclave of
Vatican City inside the city of Rome.
The Vatican City State is a little over 100 acres near the Tiber. It contains Saint Peter's Basilica, the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church (The Holy See), the Vatican Museums, the residence of the Pope, and extensive gardens. They have their own postage stamps, Euro coinage, railway station, newspaper, radio station, security force (separate from the famous Swiss Guards), and Internet top level domain (.va).
Just to the east of the Vatican is the Castel Sant'Angelo. Initially built as a mausoleum for emperor Hadrian I, It has been recycled into a fortress, a prison, and now a museum. There is a narrow viaduct leading from the Pope's residence to Castel Sant'Angelo so that he could take refuge there in case of attack.
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The Vatican Museums
The
Smithsonian Institution has often been called "The nation's attic"
because that's where we put all the stuff we don't want to throw away.
The
Vatican museums could similarly be called "Rome's attic." The Popes
have been collecting stuff for over 500 years. The museum now houses one
of the worlds greatest collections of Greek and Roman sculpture, stone
tablets and inscriptions, Egyptian and Etruscan objects, paintings, and
modern religious art. Add on the
Apostolic Library, and you have a collection unequaled anywhere in
the world.
We first entered the Pigna courtyard named for the giant bronze pinecone at the north end. In second century Rome, it served as a fountain. The inscription is From Dante's Inferno, Canto XXXI:
"His face appeared to me as long and large
As is at Rome the pine-cone of Saint Peter's, "
 La Pigna |
 Sphere Within Sphere by Arnaldo Pomodoro (1990) |
 Caesar Augustus |
 Artemis of Ephesus |
 The cartouche gives a throne name of Nekhtnebef (XXXth dynasty) |
 'Atalanta |
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| Marie particularly liked the ceilings of the galleries. | ||
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The Sistine Chapel
From the museum galleries we entered the Sistine Chapel. This is the private chapel of the Pope, also used for the election of a new Pope by the College of Cardinals. It is best known for the frescos which adorn the walls (Bernini, Raphael, Botticelli) and ceiling (Michelangelo)
The
story is that our old friend Michelangelo Buonarroti (who we met in
Florence) was drooling over his commission to
sculpt a massive tomb for Pope Julius the second. It was going to occupy
a prominent place in Saint Peter's and consist of a dozen or more major
works. Julius, however diverted him to doing the ceiling of his chapel.
Michelangelo much preferred sculpting to painting (especially sculpting
male torsos), but he had to do the ceiling before he could do the tomb.
He went along with it,
giving us one of the most famous masterpieces of
the Renaissance. Oh, and the tomb? Leo X, Julius' successor, scaled it
back to one statue of Moses now located in San Pietro in Vincolo.
Over the years the candle smoke had covered the ceiling with a dark film. Starting in 1980 a twenty year project restored all of the frescos as close as possible to their original state, revealing the bright colors used by the artists. This picture shows before and after on the figure of Adam. Unfortunately some details were lost in the restoration.
 The
major scenes on the ceiling are from Genesis. Here God is
creating the sun and the moon. |
 In
the most famous scene, God gives life to Adam. |
 This
is the creation of Eve. Michelangelo supported the smaller
scenes with male nudes, his specialty. |
This original sin scene shows the full width of the ceiling. The triangular sections are depictions of the ancestors of Christ, |
 In
between the triangular sections are prophets and Sibyls. This is
the Delphic Sibyl. |
 On
the end wall, above the altar, Michelangelo painted the
Last Judgment with a beardless Christ and lots of male
torsos. |
Saint Peter's
 Saint Peter's Basilica |
 By night |
 The Pietà |
 Bernini's baldachin |
 The Colonnade |
 The inside of Michelangelo's dome |
 Bernini's "Gloria" |
 It's a mosaic! |