June 2, Saturday – Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museums

Before we entered the Vatican museum, I was told that it would be a lot to process, but I did not really understand that until walking into the Chiaramonti. The first section of the tour, it is a long hall lined with layer upon layer of statuary. After maybe 10 or 15 minutes my senses were flooded and my memory card rapidly filling ... and that was only the beginning.

We then entered a courtyard filled with more statues, sarcophogi and giant marble bath tubs (there may be a mmore accurate term for what those are but that's what they look like). There was a carving of a lion biting the head of a horse that I found appealing in an odd, visceral sort of way.

 

The Laocoon (can't figure out how to type the umlaut on that to spell it right), a statue of a man and his sons being attacked and devoured by snakes, was also kind of morbidly fascinating.The look of agony on Laocoon's face and the twisting poses were so fascinating that I could have spent a lot more time staring at it but there was so much more to see.

The series of tapestries based on the cartoons of Raphael Santi called "Murder of the Innocents" was intricately detailed, with every piece of armor, every face, every plant and animal rendered with such precision. I could really feel the pain of the mother screaming in agony as she holds the body of her child, who is being stabbed by a soldier.

(Wow, I didn't realize how many of the items I was fascinated by were so dark until now)

The Raphael frescoes were breathtaking, as was the Sistine Chapel. I only wish that I could have seen them both at a time when the museum wasn't so incredibly congested by tourist groups. It was nearly impossible to stop and stare when you are being shoved around by huge crowds. For that reason alone, one of my favorite sections was the Egyptian, which as it was not part of the direct route to the Sistine Chapel was largely bypassed by the tour guides. The statuary was beautiful, particularly a bust of Isis.

Again, there was just so much to see and process that I cannot do it justice here right now. So many incredible pieces I can't list them all right now.