the marble not yet carved

I have no idea what time my body thought it was when the alarm chimed… 5:45 am here translated 11:45pm at home. We had an appointment at the Vatican for a ‘before it opens’ tour of the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica, so we got cleaned up, swallowed some breakfast (we were given a bag breakfast by the hotel), and then caught a cab.

We zoomed around Rome, perhaps taking the long way… but arrived safe and sound at the tour meeting spot, grabbed a coffee, and found our guide. We didn’t have to wait long before the tour started and we marched into the Vatican, bypassing a growing lineup of others that had another hour to wait.

The tour didn’t spend much time in the museum, but we still traversed the halls, the guide taking the time to point out the highlights. There weren’t hoards of people so it was more relaxed than the last time we were there with a million other people jostling to see the wonders. Actually our guide said that on a usual day there are over 30,000 visitors. We felt blessed not to be in a crush.

Finally the big moment - through an unassuming door and into the giant Sistine chapel. We were able to sit on benches along the side to take time to view the ceiling. When we were here a few years ago there were so many people that we could hardly look up - this is the way to do it and I got a new appreciation of the magnitude and skill. The paintings were three dimensional and seemed to be carved into the ceiling. Wow.

We had a full 20 minutes to take it all in (impossible!), and then we made our way to the basilica. 

I wish I had the words to describe the feeling of walking into this magnificent structure - I felt small yet I could feel my soul expand. The first thing we saw was the statue of La Pieta, done by MichaelAngelo. It was set a distance back for security reasons but even still the statue seems ready to come to life. It is impossible to believe that it is made of stone.

The artwork throughout Saint Peter’s is astounding. Everything is decorated using mosaics - millions and millions of tiny tiles make the space come alive. It is extraordinary. Words or photographs can never do it justice.

We ended the tour outside in St. Peter’s square which is embraced by Bernini’s columns. Apparently 300,000 people can cram themselves into the expanse.

Since there are so many photos I’ll break my day into multiple posts - it’s been that amazing!

“The marble not yet carved can hold the form of every thought the greatest artist has.”

~Michelangelo