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June & July 2005

Rome & Vatican City

Jeremy Koh
2005-11-05 11:48:59

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elaborate sarcophagus and ornate aboveground tomb, as was done to his predecessors. Thus, there is only a white marble gravestone engraved with his Latin name "IOANNES PAULUS PPII", and the dates of his 26-year papacy.

From the grottoes, we emerged into St. Peter's Basilica. We were awestruck. Such beauty. It was overwhelming. We didn't even know where to start looking. And it was huge. Possibly the largest church in Christianity, it covers an area of 23,000 m˛ and has a capacity of over 60,000 people. Now, there are several noteworthy monuments and memorials within the Basilica but I can't remember their names though they are all impressive. Right in the centre of the Basilica, underneath the dome stands the high or papal altar, commonly known as the Altar of the Confessio. It is surmounted by the splendid, majestic bronze "baldacchino", Gian Lorenzo Bernini's first work in the basilica. The tomb of St. Peter's in believed to be directly beneath it. After gawking at the magnificent structure for some time, we decided to start exploring the place. Soon we came across a Mass being held. Hymns were sung and prayers were recited. Somehow it feels a little surreal seeing this in one of the holiest sites of Christendom.

Now, as I mentioned earlier, I can't really remember the names of what I saw (not that I knew them in the first place), so let me fast forward a bit. Next, Serene remembered that Michelangelo's famous sculpture Pietŕ, was found here, and so we went in search of it. Soon we found it. There were lots of people crowding around a bullet-proof glass. The Pietŕ was behind it. The protective glass panel was installed after a deranged Hungarian-born Australian damaged the statue with a hammer in 1972. After jostling with the crowd to get a good picture of the Pietŕ, we decided to head for the Sistine Chapel. Soon, we realized that we couldn't enter the Sistine Chapel from here. First ...