Colosseo e Vaticano
Quote of the day comes from our Vatican tour guide: "It's been over 400 hundred years, and we still haven't found a box of penises." (I'll explain later)
This was our view while eating breakfast this morning. Gorgeous. we opted to find a local bakery on the way to the Colosseum, our first tour of the day. Eating fresh croissants, we got to enjoy the views while waiting for our group. There were even panels hung in some of the arches, showing the original statues.
In our tour, we each had a headset tuned into our guide's microphone so we could hear everything. This was especially great for Pedro and I since we'd frequently hang back or side step into a different area to check stuff out or snap pictures. A lot of our expectations for the Colosseum stemmed from Hollywood, of course, so I think we were both surprised by the inside. The outside of the Colosseum, where we were eating breakfast, is the best preserved side. The other half of the structure had been restored with red brick. On the original walls and pillars, you can see many holes and dents along the surface where iron clamps (holding stone together) have been removed. The original name of the Colosseum was the Flavian Amphitheater, a gift to the Roman people from the emperors.
The Arena floor was our first view of the inside. This is where I think P and I had pictured it differently, though our guide informed us the platform we were standing on was built only 3-4 years ago. The ruins below us housed the various animals, where slaves would open doors and operate lifts up to the main stage. The area flor was originally covered in wood (which could be removed) and then covered in sand (to hide the blood). The next floor was a mini museum full of remains from the original decorations as well as sketches made from a combination of plans and literature.
This last one is just a fantastical idea of the Colosseum by an artist, showing how grand it looked. Now we all know some of the horrors that happened in the area, the animals, the fighters, slaves, prisoners and more died inside. So to make their death more than that of entertainment, Pope Benedict XIV dedicated this place to the suffering that occurred here, making the deaths one of martyrdom.
From the Colosseum, we walked to the Arch of Constantine. This Triumphal Arch was strategically placed, in that it would be seen by the people going to the arena, the roman forum (ancient markets), and the community baths. In lieu of newspapers and media, this arch served as a way to let the people now of Constantine's military victory, detailing battles via sculptures.
From there, we walked to Palatine Hill. This was home to the aristocrats and emperors, as it overlooked the heart of the city.
The picture above is the remains of Stadium of Domitian, of which the structure is somewhat unknown. It resembles a hippodrome, but it may have also been the emperor's private gardens. On the way up the hill, we stopped at a public water fountain. I wanted to include this because this was our main source of water while walking around the city. It's safe potable water, totally free, from various fountains around the city. And as hot as it was, walking up hill, it was at a perfect spot. Finally at the very top of the hill, we glimpsed the city as the emperors did, over all the people.
At the bottom of Palatine Hill, is the Roman Forum. Again, at the center of Rome, it was home to government buildings, markets, arches, and even the home of Augustus. The first arch was the Arch of Titus depicting the triumph of Rome by Emperor Vespasian and Titus (father and son). The building with the columns, was a temple built to honor the deified wife of Antoninus, the empress Faustina, in 141 AD. The last is the Temple of Divus Julius, the resting place of Julius Ceasar. After his death, his body was carried through the Roman Forum, his body burned at this location, and an altar built dedicated to him.
After walking the Colosseo, the Palatine Hill, and the Roman Forum, Pedro's feet were pounding and we wanted to sit down for lunch. This is very easy, as the majority of the restaurants in the city have outside (shaded and misted) seating, where a waiter may stand outside, inviting people in. 
I slathered on some more sunscreen, and we shared some pizza along with various meats and cheeses. Once rested, we needed to head to our next tour at the Vatican. We were a bit far from the metro, so we started looking for cabs. Can I just say...I hailed a taxi like a pro. Pedro was in the middle of downloading an app from Google maps when I spotted one. I'm glad we told the driver "Vatican Museums", not the basilica, because the difference was about 2km.
I think Pedro and I realized very quickly that it was the largest museum we'd ever been in and will ever be in. The amount of art that was stored there is borderline ridiculous considering a lot of it is such a mix of cultures that your head is spinning. Out of everything, I was looking forward to seeing the Sistine Chapel. Luckily, I had warned Pedro beforehand that there were no pictures allowed in the chapel. I didn't want him to be disappointed, but be able to just stand under it and appreciate it. He understood the aspect of respect and protecting the frescos from camera flashes, but then I told him the primary reason and he had to laugh. I'm not sure how many people know this, because I definitely did not. Around 1980, the chapel was under restoration. As you can imagine, such an undertaking would be extremely expensive, so they found someone to fund it. A television network from Japan won this endeavor with 4.2 million dollars, but in return, they owned the rights to all photos and videos of the chapel. The photo ban was meant to be limited to professionals (not tourists) and only last about 10 years. However, the Vatican decided to keep the ban to preserve the restoration. So when you visit, you enter the chapel in silence, and simply study the details (or feel the wrath of the guards).
Our guide told us about the chapel first, because it was at the end of the tour and we'd have to be quiet. The photos I have below were provided by the museums, so I am not violated any copyrights. Michelangelo was not a painter when asked to do the ceiling, he was a sculpture. He did not want the job, knowing that if he failed, his career could be over, but you can only say no to the Vatican so many times. There were a few mistakes, since he's never painted frescos before, as well as something so far (high) from the viewer. Fresco, specifically, is painting on plaster while it is still wet, which takes a lot of practice and skill for it to dry properly and show the colors as intended. Michelangelo created his own scaffolding to paint up close to the wall, and started at the other end with very small and densely populated scenes, then evolving to larger figures in simpler scenes so that they could be easily seen from the ground. Despite these "mistakes", Michelangelo finished and was invited back to paint the Last Judgement. You can see a major difference between his first try (the Sistine Chapel) and the second try (the Last Judgement). There is a lot more blue (the most expensive paint), the increased nudity, and his depictions of God, angels, and humans interacting directly. Based on this work, it seems like Michelangelo was a bit angry he had to paint for the church again. Michelangelo would sign his fresco by painting himself in the scene, looking at the viewer, as if to say, "yes, this is mine and I'm proud." However, in The Last Judgement, his self portrait is a bit of an inside joke, showing himself as skinned alive (near the middle of the scene) representing his horrible experience of painting the chapel.
The rest of the art had so many different stories of acquirement, from different time periods, cultures, some even changed to fit their beliefs.
This head used to be a whole figure sculpture! It's been heavily restored, but only the head remains.
Notice anything about these sculptures? Various states of dress, mostly naked, but most controversial is the presence of a fig leaf or the penis entirely chopped off. This is due to popes like Pope Paul IV, declaring the nude male form was not appropriate for the museums. Some sculptures were simply covered, but others were desecrated, like when Pope Pius IX ordered them to be removed. Of course, the record is a bit sketchy (especially when sculptures are to be altered), but we don't know what ever happened to the remains from these sculptures. This led to our guide saying we still haven't found a box of marble penises, so we'll never know what actually happened.
Can you imagine being so rich, you have a small pool sized bath made from a rare red marble? (left above photo) Emperor Nero had it made from one piece of Imperial Porphyry, one of the rarest marbles, that only existed in one mine from Egypt. Using the same marble, the sarcophagus of Helena, mother of Constantine, was created. (right above) There military depictions along all sides, suggesting it was actually designed for Constantine himself.
It really was not enough to simply look around in the museums. There is something to see in every direction. We were looking at the walls, the ceilings, the floors, the doorways, the windows....everything had some hidden detail. The tapestry room was especially interesting for its illusions. The two matching pictures above show one of the painted ceilings; painted, it wasn't 3D. In the video, you may notice the depiction of Jesus, with his eyes following me. In the close up, you can see that his left eye is slightly higher than the right, giving it the illusion that his eyes are following when walking from left to right.
The map room was impressive; the length of the ceiling, the various depictions of Italy, all the little depictions of ships, people, even some mythical creatures. We were looking up at the ceiling thinking that our imagination would never have gotten us that far. The last map is the most accurate in the hall, depicting Venice with about 90% accuracy in the 16th century.
The pictures below are in the Raphael Rooms. The first picture, in the center scene, is a very strong depiction of church. I think it was a very good representation of the religious atmosphere at the time, showing Jesus on the cross behind a broken pagan statue on the floor . The next pictures show the famous School of Athens, and you can see his self portrait all the way to the right, looking directly at the audience.
While transiting from one museum to another, the guide pointed out an interesting thing: the parking lot. There were four firetrucks parked near the entrance to the Vatican Archives. Apparently, these trucks are equipped with a special fire extinguishing foam that will not damage the papers like water would. However, the chemical reactions have a very small lifespan (about 3 minutes), so the firetrucks are always present, just in case.
At this point, we have arrived at the modern art portion of the museums. All of these works were either purchased or donated, not commissioned.
We mostly breezed through this portion, as the Sistine was in the next room and we were nearing the end of the tour. In one of the last rooms however, I saw a Salvador Dali.
Pedro: See, I thought it looked like Dali. So I went to ask you, saw your eyes bulge and make a beeline from the group, and went 'Yeah, that must be a Dali'.
Eh, what can I say? I recognize something from a favorite artist, I'm going to go appreciate it.
Now since I can't provide you with any pictures, here's a virtual tour from the Vatican in case you need a reference. Virtual tour "Sistine Chapel" (museivaticani.va). We entered from the side of The Last Judgement, and tried to wiggle our way through the crowd. We just happened to end up directly under the famous scene of God and Adam almost touching fingers. Just standing with our heads tilted back, we tried to soak it in. A few times, the guard got on the PA system to reprimand people taking pictures, or if the room got louder than a murmur.
At this point our guide was leaving us. Unfortunately, this tour no longer included St. Peter's Basilica. It was closing at the time we were leaving as well. We asked our guide the best time to visit, as we had a free day on Sunday. Now I know, I should have put two and two together, i.e. don't visit one of the largest churches in the world on a Sunday. She suggested going early tomorrow morning, but we had another tour at 9:40am on the opposite side of the river at Piazza Barberini. We wouldn't have time.
We exited out into a garden, where we got to rest our feet a bit before continuing out of the labyrinth of museums.
We did see a few more interesting things, like papal robes, stain glass art, and a 3D model of Vatican City.
I loved this staircase. I think I had seen it before on a few photography blogs, but never knew it was in the Vatican. It was very beautiful.
The funniest thing happened at the end of the museums, as we're browsing the giftshops. I wanted to get a post card with the Sistine (since I can't take a picture), and Pedro wanted to get something for his mom. It was a small little stand with little statues and magnets, but he managed to find a pretty rosary. But then about 400ft down the hall, we find another gift shop. And 200ft more, and we find the bigger shop, with 10 times as many gifts, including a larger selection of rosaries. Overwhelmed with the options, Pedro decided to video call his mom to let her choose. She answers the way she usually answers, very animatedly and loud. Pedro jumped, whispering, "Estoy en el Vaticano! Estoy en el Vaticano! shh!" and trying desperately to turn down his volume, and his mom goes, "Oh Sh*t!" We just about died laughing, running to hide behind a column in the gift shop. With the volume finally down, his mom asks, "Do you think they heard me say sh*t??" and by that point we were shaking with laughter.
We eventually found a nice rosary, asking if we could exchange the first one. The cashier groaned, saying this was her fiftieth exchange that day, but it's not our fault they put the tiny teaser shop ahead of the gigantic one!
By the time we got out of the museums, our feet were hurting. We decided to take a taxi again, but were told there was a demonstration going on in the city center due to the war. The drivers were very honest and said it would be about €50 instead of only €11. So, we dragged ourselves to the metro, which still got us next to our hotel. On the metro, looking at the stops, I realized our hotel, St. Peter's Basilica, and the meeting place for our tour, were all on the same line. So I looked up the earliest train, and figured out that we could get up early, see the basilica before it gets crowded, and get to our tour on time.
P: so we have to wake up at like 5 in the morning?
S: It'll be so worth it!
On the way to the hotel, we broke our food rule for the first time on this trip. When we travel, we like to eat like the locals whenever we can. Avoiding chains like McDonald's, and other types of food, we've mostly just been finding spots on the street where we see good food in the window. But today, Pedro was just about dead on his feet. We got off at our hotel stop, and beelined it for the Japanese restaurant next door to our hotel. Little did we know, it was actually a huge win. When Pedro found out it was an all-you-can eat sushi buffet, he about looked as happy as I did at the Sistine.
Miscellaneous photos
