When we arrived we weren't due for our 9:45 scheduled tour of the Musei Vaticani for another half hour, so Carl and Michele led us past St. Anne's gate to give us a quick peek of St. Peter's Square. Because it was a bit early still, the square was a lot clearer than it would turn out to be later in the day. We all grabbed our own individual pictures, along with Michele getting a few shots of the group, before we made our way past the long line to wait for our tour guide at the outside of the Musei Vaticani.
We didn't have to wait terribly long before out tour guide, Ulisse, found the group and led us to get radios to listen to him as he guided us through the Museum. After making our way through security we began our tour.
We were informed that the Musei Vaticani was not just one large museum, but rather 23 different museums! We only had until 2 pm for our tour, so we all agreed for Ulisse to show us what he thought were the highlights of the museums, including the "garage" with different cars previous Popes have used, as well as galleries with tapestries and maps, courtyards and galleries with different statues of people and animals found from excavations. We also, of course, visited the Sistine Chapel. It was truly amazing to see the artwork covering the Chapel, although I did not obtain any pictures because we were, unfortunately, not permitted to use cameras in that hall.
What I personally enjoyed the most out of the tour was getting to St. Peter's Church, the biggest church in the world. There was so much to take in, it is hard to put it all into words. Every corner of the church was covered in such detailed art that was larger than life; and I know I felt small in such a large area with so much in it. Most amazing, perhaps, was being told that most of the artwork we were seeing were mosaics, not paintings.
After our tour of the Musei Vaticani and St. Peter's Church was completed, Ulisse led us to a souvenir shop and then said his goodbyes. After taking a peak around in it, we split from Carl and Michele until 4 pm, when we agreed to reconvene for class. As a group, the ten of us walked around until we found a restaurant to sit down and grab lunch; we were all feeling particularly hungry after the tour. After eating, we went back to St. Peter's Square, where it had become much more crowded, and took in more of the views until Carl arrived and we could find an area to sit and have a geometry class.
After finishing up our class, we rejoined Michele and made our way towards the Castel Sant'Angelo, which we unfortunately could not go into and look at because it was closed.
From there we crossed the Pont Sant'Angelo and began adventuring through the area. After going into a few neat shops and taking a few streets we ended up in the Piazza Navona where we sat down together and grabbed desserts and coffee. After that we hopped on a bus back to the Termini and from there walked back to the hotel so we could all study for our first Geometry test tomorrow and rest up from our long, but amazing day.
Stay tuned for the post tomorrow about our day at the convent and the Escher gallery!
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Thank you for sharing the story of your adventures in Rome. It's a real treat to hear about this aspect of a Pierce education as we sit in quiet, wintry Rindge today!
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful to explore Vatican City when so few people were there! It's a mob most of the time, so some good planning took place. Studying geometry in a city of such geometric proportion must be wonderful. But the added pleasure of expanding your senses and seeing the most beautiful productions of mankind is a wonderful experience, indeed. That's why study of humanities and arts disciplines are so important; they enrich our lives and move us to great aspiration. Enjoy the rest of your trip; take it all in! Best wishes, Dean McKeever
ReplyDeleteWhat great experiences you have all had and I know the pictures you have posted have not done justice to what you have actually seen and experienced.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy every moment you have left. We are all jealous of your trip and cannot wait to hear about everything and to see all the pictures you took.
See you soon!!!