Day 12 – Thursday, October 13: Rome, Vatican & Sistine Chapel, Lateran Church & Sacred Steps, Spanish Steps
Today was our first full day in Rome. It actually rained this morning (the first time during our trip), but we spent the first four hours inside the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Cathedral. The afternoon had breaks of sun and clouds, with temps around 70.
Vatican City
We left the hotel at 8:00 today. We drove directly to the Vatican where we visited the museum and Sistine Chapel. About 850 people live in the “Vatican” today, the world’s smallest official “state.” Getting into the Vatican with special “VIP” status helped us avoid the hours-long lines. Upon entering, we got our first glimpse of St. Peter’s Church.
Vatican Museum/Sistine Chapel
Walking through the museum was packed with people. It was filled with ancient artifacts, tapestries, and maps was breath-taking. Even the ceiling of the hallway is amazing! We even saw the collection of art by Raphael! Finally we arrived at the Sistine Chapel. The uncle of Pope Julius II built it in 1483 when Michelangelo was only five years old. So many of his teachers began painting the images in the chapel. The ceiling was left blue, with golden stars until Michelangelo began his masterwork in 1508. He was 37-38 years old at this time. It took him four years of painting the ceiling. Much later, we also spent another five years to complete the Last Judgment scene on the front wall of the chapel. The chapel is simply stunning! Michelangelo was 89 when he died in 1564. About 35,000 enter the Sistine Chapel every day (note: the picture used of the Sistine Chapel is not my own).
St. Peter’s Basilica
Leaving the chapel we entered St. Peter’s Basilica. It is the largest in the world. The original church was built in 319-326 AD, but the present church was built in 1504. It took 120 years to complete! When Michelangelo was 73, he started designing the dome of the church, the largest in the world. As we walked through the church, we saw the famous Pieta sculpture of Mary holding the crucified Jesus. We also saw the remains of a few Popes who earned “sainthood” after their deaths. Leaving the church we entered Vatican Square. It is a large gathering place in front of the church itself.
“Today was mind-blowing, with so many impressive things we saw here in Rome. The Vatican Museum was incredible, from the artifacts on display, the Tapestries, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Church. We even saw rooms of paintings by Raphael.”
St. John’s Lateran Church & Sacred Steps
Our last stop of the day was to St. John’s Lateran Church (formerly called Church of our Savior). This was the very first official church, built in 313 AD (St. Peter’s Cathedral was built in 319-326 AD). Up through the 14th century AD, all the Popes lived in the adjacent building next to the church. The church was later redone in the 1500s. The new Pope always comes here and is appointed the Bishop of Rome here. Because of the church being the bishop center, it is viewed as the most sacred of all Catholic Churches around the world. Twenty two Popes are buried here.
Across the street we also briefly visited the Sacred Steps. As a monk, Martin Luther climbed these steps on his knees, trying to merit forgiveness. It is believed that Helena brought the 28 steps from Jerusalem. The steps are to believed to be used by Jesus went brought before Pontius Pilate.
We returned back to our hotel at about 4 p.m. Five in the group went on an optional walk to the Spanish Steps. There are about 136 steps. We returned for another quite eloquent dinner served Italian style. It was a great first day here in Rome!
Day 13 – Friday, October 14: Colosseum, Forum, Maritima Prison, Piazza Venezia, Catacombs, St. Paul’s Church Outside the Walls
