No trip to Rome would be complete without a visit to Vatican City -the smallest state in the world. We had a great walk around Saint Peter’s Square and enjoyed the beautiful architecture. For this experience, we wanted it to be really well done, so we booked a guided tour through the Vatican and we were really pleased with how it went. We also found the price to be comparable to private companies.
Our guide Daniella was professional, but kept the kids engaged. We wore FM systems which allowed her to speak in a regular voice and we could still hear her perfectly through our headsets. This system worked very well especially if the group split up, as she could tell us exactly where she was standing and we could find her amongst the crowds.
Our tour took us through the different Vatican museums, including the Sistine Chapel, as well as St. Peter’s Basilica. After the tour, we could spend as much time as we wanted in the church which was perfect for us.
Afterwards, we all selected a piece of art that we appreciated the most. Here are our thoughts.
Oliver – Vatican Museum – The Liberation of Peter by Raphael
One of the interesting pieces I saw during our tour of St. Peter’s was a painting in 3 parts by Raphael called The Liberation of St. Peter.
The first pane shows St. Peter imprisoned and in chains waiting for his execution. The angel of the Lord is sent to Peter to free him. The angel’s presence caused the guards to fall asleep and Peter is freed.
The second pane shows the angel leading St. Peter out of the prison. Again, the angel’s presence causes the guards to fall asleep, and St. Peter is given safe passage out of the prison.
The third pane shows the captain as he comes upon the sleeping guards and discovers the escape of St. Peter. The alarm is raised, and I got the sense from the image that the sleeping guards were going to be severely punished.
As the story continues, St. Peter had made good his escape, but in time he thought that this was not the will of God. It was said that he returned to Rome and voluntarily surrendered to the authorities. He was arrested and in a short period of time he was executed by crucifixion. As they were about to crucify him, St. Peter asked to be crucified upside down as he did not feel worthy of being crucified in the same manner as Jesus.
St. Peter was crucified for being a Christian, and ironically only a short time after his death the Roman Empire converted to Christianity. The site of St. Peter’s execution is where the current day St. Peter’s Basilica stands.
What I loved about this piece was the level of detail in the figures of the characters in the painting…St. Peter, the guards, the angels. In the first pane you can see from St. Peter’s face that he is feeling desolate and alone. I found the use of light around the angel really interesting, almost portraying the power of God shining through the angel and the effects of the light – putting the guards to sleep and protecting St. Peter – to be very effective.
Katina – Vatican Museum – School of Athens by Raphael
As we walked through the different museums, I couldn’t wait to see one of my all time favourite paintings…the School of Athens. This painting by Raphael is incredible as he has all of the greatest minds of antiquity in the same painting interacting with each other and sharing their expertise (this is my personal philosophy!). I would love to be in a room with all of these great minds!
Plato and Aristotle (centre top of stairs) lead the group as they share their philosophical ideas which make up most of our Western society and contributed to different ideals of Christianity. Pythagoras (lower left) shares his ideas about how mathematical laws explain the movement of the stars and planets as well as how music and harmony are created. Ptolemy (lower right with a crown and his back to us), is holding a planet and tries to explain his theories on planetary movement.
There are two new things I learned this time from our guide Daniella. First, Raphael painted a self portrait in this painting and can be found in Ptolemy’s group and facing us. Also, I learned that Michelangelo and Raphael were working at the Vatican at the same time. Of course there was artistic rivalry between the two painters, but it is said that Raphael was so impressed with Michelangelo’s work in the Sistine Chapel that he also included him in the painting as a tribute. He is the gentleman who is sitting at the desk writing.
This was not my first time seeing the Vatican museums and Sistine Chapel, but each time I visit, there is always something new to learn! I need to go back again to learn some more!
Katherine – Sistine Chapel – The Last Judgement by Michelangelo
The Sistine Chapel is known for famous paintings by Michelangelo. One of them is The Last Judgement. This painting has a whole wall dedicated to it.
This painting is related to Dante’s Inferno; it is separated into three different parts. The top of the painting represents heaven, the middle represents purgatory, and the bottom represents the underworld. If you look right in the centre of heaven you will see the Virgin Mary and Jesus. When Michelangelo first painted The Last Judgment, he only put clothing on the Virgin Mary and Jesus because Michelangelo thought that when we die God will see us how we are, pure and simple. One cardinal disagreed with Michelangelo’s idea because he thought this was a huge scandal. This cardinal went to the Pope to discuss the issue. Since the Pope agreed with Michelangelo, the painting was kept the same. Michelangelo was upset with this cardinal so he painted the cardinal as the Devil, shown in the right hand corner of the painting.
In the centre, beside the Virgin Mary and Jesus, Saint Bartholomew is holding a piece of skin. This represents how he died. It is also a self-portrait of Michelangelo.
Years after Michelangelo died, people decided to clean up the wall because it got very dirty from the candles in the chapel. (They use these candles when they decide on a new Pope. Candles are lit to let the people know a new Pope has been chosen). Once the walls were clean, people were amazed by the vivid colours. All of the previous books and pictures had to be updated with the correct information and image.
The Last Judgment reminded me of the stories from the Bible with Jesus, the Devil, and the Virgin Mary. I understand that I’m only 13 years old but when I saw this Masterpiece I was amazed. I would recommend people to go and see this piece of artwork because the details in the painting are phenomenal.
Mikhaila – Sistine Chapel – The Creation of Man by Michelangelo
During our visit of the Vatican, we saw many pieces of art in the Vatican museum. The most spectacular piece of art we saw was the ceiling of the Sistine chapel. I was honestly speechless. The only thing I wanted to do was look at all the beautiful colours and scenes all over. The first scene I looked for was the famous “Creation of Man” with God about to touch the hand of Adam. It was a true masterpiece and is so amazing it’s hard to imagine all the work that went into its creation. All the paintings were spectacular and I think if I worked in the chapel, I wouldn’t be able to do anything except stare at the ceiling.
To properly view the ceiling in order, start at the top of the painting of the “Last Judgment” and find the feet of the prophet Jonas. The first scene over his head shows God dividing dark from light, then God creating the sun, moon, and planets (some people joke Michelangelo added an extra moon!) After this is God dividing the water from the earth. The painting which follows is the most famous on the ceiling, the creation of Adam. Next is the creation of woman where God creates Eve, and then the expulsion from Paradise or Eden. The next three scenes are about Noah when he sacrifices an animal to God, then him and his family floating in the ark with the animals, and finally, the drunkenness of Noah. On the sides of the scenes are alternating images of different prophets and sibyls (female prophetesses). It is a beautiful masterpiece and I would definitely recommend seeing this ceiling.
Zoe – St. Peter’s Basilica – La Pieta by Michelangelo
In St. Peters Basilica, my favourite piece of art was La Pieta by Michelangelo. It is a statue sculpted between 1498-1499 of the Virgin Mary holding Jesus’ body after the crucifixion. Can you believe that Michelangelo sculpted the Pieta out of one piece of white Italian marble? La Pieta is now kept behind bulletproof glass because a number of years ago, a mentally ill person used a hammer and chisel to break the nose and the outstretched arm of the Virgin Mary right off. They were able to fix it by taking marble off of the back of the statue.
La Pieta is a very special statue for two reasons.
- It is the first sculpture by Michelangelo
- It is the only piece of art he signed – He signed his name on the ribbon across Mary’s shoulder.
What I really enjoyed about the Pieta was how detailed Michelangelo sculpted Mary’s clothing. It looks like an actual person is wearing robes which was really effective.
We saw a Michelangelo sculpture, The Madonna and Child, in Brugge, Belgium. The two sculptures have the same people in it, but are still very different. In The Madonna and Child, Mary and Jesus are both happy, but in La Pieta, Mary is devastated.
I think La Pieta is a masterpiece and everyone should go to experience its beauty and emotion you will uncover.
Of course after the fabulous tour of the Vatican we had to complete the missions required so we could get more points and become Secret Intelligent Agents (SIA).
Mission 10 – St. Peter’s Square and Basilica
After our tour, the first thing the girls did was track down a member of the Swiss guard and discreetly snapped their photo.
We also had to buy some Vatican stamps and send postcards home telling them about our visit!
One interesting thing the girls had to discover, were compass markers in Saint Peter’s Square. They also found the “Super Bonus” which is the design of a compass that covers all of the Square.
While in Saint Peter’s, the girls found the Holy Doors which will be opened again in 2025, (another reason to return!). They also had to locate the back of the holy door so they could see the thickness of the cement that is broken through with hammer and chisel on the “Jubilee”.
Inside the basilica, the girls had to find 10 Vatican crests, 10 doves, and a dove in stained glass. Great job ladies!
Of course, Saint Peter is an important part of the church and the girls had their photo taken with his statue and rubbed his feet for good luck. They also found the name “Petrus” in Latin on the roof by Michelangelo’s dome.
We all thoroughly enjoyed our time at the Vatican and learned so much about art and history. We also became successful SIAs!
Our time in Rome is now at an end and it’s time to move onto our next adventure – a 10 day cruise of the Mediterranean which will bring us to Greece and Turkey!
Arrividerci Roma – it’s been a blast!
Comments
6 responses to “Visit to the Vatican”
My goodness, we’ve really got our work cut out for us when we visit Rome in March! But thanks to all your insights we now have a head start 🙂
Thanks so much and happy travels as you head east.
HI Chris,
There is a lot, and I mean a lot to see in Rome and in the Vatican. Make sure to bring some good walking shoes and give yourself lots of time to have coffee and gelato along the way! You’ll have a great trip!
Cheers,
Kat:)
The paintings are very beautiful! I recently heard that people were having trouble viewing these paintings because it was hurting their necks, so they installed benches so that they could lay down and view the ceilings. Did you notice people using these benches?
Hi There,
Hmm, interesting you say that because we actually saw signs that indicated no lying down to look at the ceiling. We were all standing there and craning our necks. THere are benches to sit on, but they were pretty strict in how people behaved and thus, we didn’t see anyone lying down.
Cheers,
Kat:)
OK, OK….I know that I have not commented in the last 5 months but the reason that I don’t comment is two fold, there is not enough writing space nor time for what I want to convey.
Firstly, I cannot say enough how much I appreciate yourkind and generous offer to include Katherine in your mediterranean adventures.
Oliver, your picture taking abilites are quite phenomenal and you capture the essence of the objects in the picture.
The pictures are breaktaking and coupled with everyone synopsis’, I close my eyes and envision myself amid the ruins. When I keep looking back on your journey thus far, the architecture just takes my breath away and makes me want to cry that I live in a City with mundane architecture!
Zoe, Michaela and Katherine: (OK, and Katina & Oliver); your detailed observations, thoughts and journeys to such wonderful and uniqure places makes me want to drop everthying in Canada and join your travels. Who needs a job/pension when there is so much to see in the world!!
Well, my break is over and I better get back to work!
All my love to you guys,
Eleny
PS. If I continue to comment on your journeys, will I be enrolled in the contest for Chocolate?
Hi, Katina and all RWT’s, what a great posting. We received your Postcard and this posting on the same day. Thank you very much. I enjoyed reading your thoughts about your individual special Masterpieces and they are all beautiful and very powerful in their own way. I find it amazing that the colours stayed so vibrant after all the centuries. My favourite is the Pieta, I think I wrote that before, this masterpiece was my introduction to Michelangelo and I felt like you, Zoe, it shows the Agony of Mary. Your comment touched my heart. I learned, as always, a lot from your comments, and I am sure, I could spent a lot of time, just looking at the individual art pieces and finding new details every time, as you remarked, Mikhaila, maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to have benches that one could lie on, but I think that nobody would leave because there is so much to see. I found the painting of The Last Judgement, that you have chosen, Katherine, a very difficult piece to “digest”, because it shows Heaven and Hell so clearly (am I scared?), but oh, the colours and the details. I liked your stories about all little fights between Master and the Clergy. Katina, I did not know the painting you have chosen, and I am wondering, how big it is. Again, the details and the colours are amazing. I like your chosen painting as well, Oliver, it must be huge, by the looks of it. All photos were wonderful, and it’s great to see the girls enjoying themselves and also having fun. Thanks for a great posting.