Home » Italy » Italy 2004 - part IX

Thursday 27 May, Rome, Vatican City

Italy 2004 - part IX

Elisabeth & Teije
2006-08-25 19:31:04

Displayed times (last time: )

Today, we are going to add one more country to our list; neither of us have ever been to the Vatican, one of the last European countries with a sort of absolute ruler. We start in the museum which is very large and where we see more and better pieces than we have ever seen in any museum. The church must have good connections to have collected so many masterpieces.

We are advised to pick a few parts of the museum since it is so big, but walking through this enormous building and seeing all the treasures we get the longing to see it all. We will be busy for hours!

We know that we are walking against the normal direction and when we approach the Sixtine chapel we only see signs that using flashlight is forbidden. Obviously, that is permitted nowhere in the building, although there are lots of tourists who pretend that their flashlight goes off by accident, and shout 'sorry' when that happens. And so we enter the Sixtine chapel where a few hundred people are watching and most of them busy taking pictures. At first we even don't realise we are already in the chapel, since we had expected a circular dome.

After trying a few times with several exposure times, we finally get this picture of the Last Judgment, painted by Michelangelo. It is a colourful masterpiece. But to really appreciate it, one should stand right before it, since there are so many details to see and stories that are told. But we won't repeat her information that can be better found in books about art.

Then I (Teije) want to make a picture of the ceiling, but I got caught by a guard and we get a fierce argument. The man is quite aggressive and he forbids me too make any pictures and threatens to throw me out of Vatican City. We still assume that we are allowe to take pictures here without flash and I mention that almost everyone is taking pictures, a lot even with flash. But he is now only interested in me and he almost starts a fight. I can get ...

Pages: [1] 2 3