Italy – Day Seven

Italy

Day Seven – 9 April 2016

Weather – Sun then showers, 19 down to 14

Steps: 19,345

First early morning in a few days so I dragged myself out at 6:15 and was down to breakfast for 6:45. This set up is similar to Sorrento except the selection is a little more diverse. I got eggs and a croissant with cream. There are no plain ones. They all have something in them.

Cream it is. Times two.

At 7:30, I was in the lobby to meet with our guide for most of the day – Francesco. He will conduct the included tour that goes to the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel and Coliseum. St. Peter’s Basilica has to be skipped because of the Jubilee celebrations that are ongoing and today. Frank is supposed to be in St. Peter’s Square for much of the morning, so Francesco expects this means that there will be smaller crowds in the Museum.

He said we are permitted to take pictures in the museum but only with the flash off and that if anyone is unsure of how to turn off their flash, he can do it. After years of touring, he said he is an expert on how to turn off the flash on just about any camera made.

I left my flash home. Makes it easy.

He noted that no photos are permitted in the Sistine Chapel. Apparently, the Japanese paid for the cleaning of the frescoes a few years ago, and in exchange, they got copyright. So, if we want a pic, we have to buy a postcard. I only touch on a portion of what we see in the Vatican museum but my photos on flickr have all been captioned.

It’s only a short drive to the Vatican from the hotel and we walk along the five-hundred-year-old walls to the new entrance which is next to the original entrance that is topped with a sculpture of Michelangelo and Rafael.

Francesco thought it funny as Michelangelo didn’t like Rafael and he didn’t much like da Vinci. He said Michelangelo was a bit of a lone wolf and probably didn’t like the up and coming competition.

There are three lines to get into the museum – the group line for the Museum and Sistine Chapel, a line just for the Sistine Chapel and the Unhappy line. We get into the short group line and Francesco says he doesn’t understand the other two lines. He can’t figure why one would want to visit the Chapel and not the Museum and he shakes his head a the Unhappy Line – people who can wait three or more hours to get in when, for just a few Euro more, they can skip the line. At least for tourists, he says the money spent to get here is better spent to permit as much time as possible doing anything except standing in line. Apparently, one can skip this line for as little as four Euro.

They don’t look happy, do they? They’re first in line and have been waiting an hour and can’t get in for another hour.

We got through metal detectors and our cameras are x-rayed. Back packs are not permitted. We head up to one of the gardens where we can get a great view of the St. Peter’s dome.

Francesco is more taken back by the empty garden below. He says this is usually jammed pack with people.

The name Vatican was the original name for the area when the Etruscans lived here. The hill was called Vati after the goddess of Earth and Death. The area was generally sparsely population, likely due to the presence of malaria and it would remain a sacred area for centuries before being used as a military staging ground for battles over Tiber Island, a strategically placed island on the river.

When Nero came to power in 53 CE, he found the ruins of the Etruscans and decided to make it a place of entertainment. He built a circus for charioteers and it came to be known as the Circus of Nero. The obelisk in the Circus had been taken from Egypt by Caligula and was the site of the martyrdom of many Christians, in particular after the Great Fire of 64 CE which Nero blamed on the Christians and used as an excuse to alienate and murder them.

A tactic still being used far too often today.

Not long after the Great Fire, Peter came to Rome and tried to convert the pagans. He was jailed for five years and then Nero decided to make an example of him and crucified him at the circus. It is believed he was buried there.

Christianity would remain illegal until 313 CE when Constantine legalized it. The Council of Nicea would take place in Istanbul in 325 CE. Here, the bible would be put together by a group of rich, affluent men who got to pick and choose what would be included. The Old Testament, generally the same text as the Torah would join this New Testament (and later the Old Testament also become part of the Quran). The seat of the Pope would be set in Lateran in southeast Rome.

The Council also gave a name to this new religion as up to then, religions didn’t have names. Pagan actually refers to many different belief systems. So, they choose Catholic which means “universal.”

A Constantinian basilica was built in 326 CE over the suspected location of St. Peter’s tomb in an existing cemetery and a century later, a palace was built nearby during the reign of Pope Symmachus (498-514). (How they choose this site is explained on my Angels and Demons tour tomorrow)

For the next millennia, the Pope held secular power over the Papal States which occupied a large parcel of central Italy until it was taken by the newly unified Italy. During the early period the Popes lived across Rome in the Lateran Palace but moved to Avignon, France in 1309. When the church risked losing all its assets in Italy, the papacy returned to Rome in 1377 where the Pope took up residence in the Vatican. They would move out again to the Quirinal Palace between the reign of Pope Paul V (1605-1621) and reunification in 1871.

At unification, the Pope was forced to return to the Vatican and the Quirinal Palace became the residence for the King of Italy. The Popes, their secular power threatened, would not recognize the right of the Italian king’s authority in Rome and the ultimate status of the Pope in Rome would become uncertain. It became known as the Roman Question between 1861 and 1929. Italy would leave the Vatican alone but did confiscate other properties like the Quirinal Palace (which is now the Prime Minister’s residence).

The question was resolved in 1929 with the Lateran Treaty signed between the king, Mussolini and Pope Pius XI and established the independent state of Vatican City.

The Vatican would remain neutral during the Second World War and this was respected by the Germans when they occupied Rome in 1943. Rome would be bombed twice by the Americans but Vatican City was never touched.

Today, the Vatican remains the residence of the Pope and has a population of about eight hundred and fifty and has a net worth of more than ten billion dollars. About a third of the country contains gardens and the city is protected by the world’s smallest army – a hundred and twenty-seven strong.

We walk down into the garden and have a look at a description of the Sistine Chapel frescoes.

The chapel was built between 1473 and 1482 for Pope Sixtus IV and was named for him. It was built on the site of another chapel, the Cappella Maggiore and was modelled after the it. The first mass took place on 15 August 1483. The Pope decided he wanted the blank walls decorated and commissioned the great artists of the renaissance including Botticelli, Perugino, Ghirlandaio and Michelangelo to paint the frescoes.

Michelangelo was not a painter but agreed to paint over the blue sky in the chapel. For four years, he laboured on the high scaffold, on his back, painting into wet plaster by candlelight. And he did so alone, which is what he liked.

Looking close at the female figures reveals that they are quite masculine and Francesco said that Michelangelo was single and had no reference for the female body, so he used what he knew – the male form.Take a look at Eve’s biceps.

Michelangelo’s art on the ceiling was different from his second work of art on the back wall – the Last Judgement – which he returned twenty-four years later to complete. On the ceiling, man is the image of God but in the Last Judgement, man is evil.

The painting depicts Jesus in the centre and the angels calling out names. The good are read from a book and the bad from a burning parchment. Bartholomew is depicted near the centre holding his own skin as he was skinned alive by the Romans. The figure is a self-portrait of Michelangelo.

Notice the strategically placed loincloth? There was a scandal over the painting as all the figures were painted naked. A Cardinal named Biaggio complained that they could not be naked in the Pope’s chapel, especially the Virgin Mary, and in response, Michelangelo not only left the figures naked, he painted the cardinal in the lower right corner with donkey-ears and a snake coiled around him biting his genitals.

Point well made.

However, after Michelangelo died, an artist was commissioned to cover the private parts. I imagine they couldn’t find an artist brave enough to touch it while Michelangelo was alive.

In 1999, the painting was cleaned and the colours really popped. This is the painting before cleaning. Compare that to the one above.

You can see some black squares on the cleaned version which was left untouched to show just how dark the painting was before cleaning. This is from the lower left hand corner.

Here, you can see more examples of the pieces of cloth that were added in after Michelangelo died to hide the genitals. Once you know it was added in after, it looks like it doesn’t belong.

The chapel is still used as the site for important services and serves as the sight for conclave. The explanation is fascinating and we head back inside to see the Vatican Museum before carrying on to the Sistine Chapel.

The Vatican Museums began with a single marble sculpture purchased from a vineyard owner in 1506 and the immense collection was amassed by subsequent popes. The museums contain some of the most important and renowned sculptures and masterpieces from the Renaissance. There are fifty-four galleries in all including the Sistine Chapel and more than six million people visit every year, making it the fifth most visited museum in the world

Francesco points out a statue in a courtyard called Apollo Belvedere which is a copy of an original bronze statue by the Greek sculptor Leochares from 350 BCE.

He said he has never seen the statue without a crowd in front of it.

It was sculpted in 120 CE and is one of the finest examples of ancient neoclassical sculpture. It is the ideal figure of a man, not too muscular but with good form and he has just released an arrow yet is calm and serene.

By comparison, the sculpture next to it, Laocoon and his Sons show a contorted image of the three who are being attacked by sea serpents.

The story behind the sculpture varies but some believe that Laocoon and his sons were killed after trying to expose the truth behind the Trojan Horse by striking it with a spear. The Greek sculptors are unknown and the piece is believed to have been completed around 29 BCE. It was excavated intact in 1506.

From here, we passed through the Room of the Animals.

And the Room of the Muses (where the word museum originates). Francesco showed us the Belvedere Torso, an incomplete statue believed to be of Hercules seated on what is believed to be a lion or panther skin. In the next room was an unusual statue of Hercules as it was in bronze.

Bronze statues tended to be melted down at some point which is why few survived. This one was buried and recovered intact when the city excavated for the subway. Michelangelo considered the form of Hercules to be “the” male body form and used the same form for Jesus in The Last Judgement.

From here, the amazing artwork and sculptures just kept coming and coming. It was actually a bit overwhelming.

We saw nineteen hundred year old mosaics.

The Greek Charioteer and Discus Thrower.

Centuries old maps of Italy that are so precise, you could almost use it on Google Earth.

And mind-blowing ceilings that just go on and on.

See that woman in the centre with the pink purse. I love her pose as she waited patiently while I composed and took my shot.

I ducked in behind the door so she could get hers with no one in it.

Even the souvenir shop is in an amazing room.

The amount of wealth in the museums is absolutely astounding…..and a bit disconcerting given the number of beggars sitting just outside the walls.

We got to the Sistine Chapel and had an opportunity to use the washroom before going in. The security remind everyone that photos are not permitted as we enter but despite this, you could hear the click of people sneaking shots.

One need only google “the Sistine Chapel” to see photos of far better quality.

We got about twenty minutes to stand there and just stare in awe. The chapel is a bit smaller than I expected but every inch of wall and ceiling is covered. It is hard to take it all in. Francesco agreed and said every time he goes there, he sees something new. And that’s after thirty years of working as an art historian.

So, I don’t feel so bad for not being able to take it all in.

When we were done, we headed outside and walked around the Vatican walls to St. Peter’s Square. The jubilee celebrations have closed the basilica for the day and the square is packed with people and in the distance is a white dot in distance.

That’s Frank.

Francesco led us to the left side of the square and gave us a break to use the washroom in a store and get something to eat. I picked up a ham and cheese panini and it was delicious.

We went down into the underground parking lot and got back on our bus. From here, we headed to the Coliseum.

It is also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre and was built between 72 and 80 CE under emperors Vespasian and Titus and later modified under emperor Domitian. The amphitheater was named for their family name, Flavius. The term Coliseum is believed to have come from the presence of a giant statue of Colossus that was originally placed outside the amphitheater.

The structure could hold between fifty and eighty thousand people which is astounding given that most modern football stadiums have a similar capacity. The Coliseum was used for a number of spectacles including gladiatorial contests, animal hunts, executions, battle re-enactments as well as theatrical dramas. After the collapse of Rome, it served a number of other functions such as housing, workshops, quarry, fortress and even a Christian shrine.

It was damaged by earthquakes in 1349 and some of the stone was removed for other projects over time. In 1749, Pope Benedict XIV declared the Coliseum sanctified by the blood of Christians killed there (though no evidence exists to support Benedict’s claim). The declaration prohibited the use of the area as a quarry and the stations of the cross were installed. In the centuries since, the structure underwent a number of restorations, the most recent between 1993 and 2000.

And the movie Gladiator was not filmed here.

As we walked towards the Coliseum, Francesco pointed out the Arch of Constantine. He said this is the arch that became a model for many other arches built around the world.

They even left some of the original cobblestone intact around the arch.

The Unhappy Line was visible long before we got to the group entrance.To give you an idea as to how long it is, we entered the Coliseum on one side and exited on the other side – where the line ended. That means it was half the circumference of the Coliseum. And this is April. Gotta wonder how long they get in June or August.

We bypass them all and have to wiggle our way through a group of students who looked to be trying to sneak in with the groups, and it got so bad, the staff had to get the police to shoo them away. The police presence is everywhere. Soldiers with automatic weapons are at all the major sites. We even see the police ticketing street vendors. Selfie sticks are all the rage this year.

As we entered, Francesco pointed to a cross that had been erected and noted that it was not original. (It’s on the other side).

He also pointed out a replica of the ramp used to allow the animals to appear out of nowhere (trapdoors to their cages below).

He said the animal hunts were not as popular as the gladiatorial games but that it was one way to see some exotic animals that the Romans were not familiar with, like lions and alligators.

Gotta wonder how they managed to catch the animals and transport them all the way to Italy.

The gladiatorial games were usually to the death but unlike Hollywood, the thumbs up or down were not how the crowd responded when asked if a wounded gladiator should die. The crowd would shout the word for jugular which meant death or the word missa – to let go. The gladiators were usually war prisoners but some were free men looking to make a quick buck. In some cases, they would put their life savings on a fight, so if they won, they doubled their net worth, and if they lost, it wouldn’t matter to them. They’d be dead.Admission and food inside the Coliseum were free. As the Roman poet Juvenal noted, free food and entertainment was a great way to placate the masses.

Bread and Circuses.

The games continued for more than two centuries but were halted by Constantine.

The Coliseum sees some thirty thousand visitors a day but only has two bathroom stalls. The Romans had it better though their toilets were just holes in the benches under which the water flowed, keeping the smell away. It’s a great place to have a chat, I imagine.

They were so well organized, they had the entrances numbered to make entering and exiting run smoothly.

Francesco pointed out some of the original marble that remains on the floor.

We wandered out, passed the Arch of Constantine and entered the Roman Forum through the Arch of Titus.

The arch was built to celebrate the victory in Israel and there is an image of a minora being brought back to Rome. It is the first known image of a minora in Europe.

The Roman Forum is a large rectangular plaza in the heart of Rome and was a centre of public life for everything from elections and political speeches to criminal trials, gladiatorial matches and commercial enterprises.

The plaza was surrounded by a number of ancient government buildings. Julius Caesar would eventually move some government offices north of this location.

The last major addition to the forum, the Basilica of Maxentius, was built by Constantine in 312 CE. It would remain a centre for the social life of Romans up to the fall of the empire. The Basilica of Maxentius wasn’t a church but a massive marketplace. Only a third of it survives today.

We passed the Temple of Julius Caesar where the famous speech by Marc Anthony was apparently made – Friend, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.

And the Temple of Romulus which was converted to a church later and for this reason, the original doors survive to this day.

As Vincenzo said to us in Switzerland – the Romans lived as though they would die tomorrow and built as though they would live forever.

From here, we walked up to Capitol Square which was designed by Michelangelo.

This was the extra visit tacked on since we couldn’t go inside St. Peter’s Basilica. In the centre of the square is a statue of Marcus Aurelius on horseback.

An American asked if the single leg up of the horse had the same meaning as many US statues. One leg up means the rider was wounded in battle and two legs up mean the rider died in battle.

And I added that four legs up mean the rider and horse died in battle.

Francesco had never heard of any of these. But we did get a chuckle out of him.

We reboarded the bus and were dropped off at the hotel. I went back to my room to reorganize my stuff and headed out to find the Hop On/Hop Off bus which has a stop right next to the bridge of Castel Sant Angelo (on the other side of the river).

All the HOHO buses stop here and some are selling tickets on the sidewalk there. I couldn’t find a rep for the Green Line which I had the ticket for so I had to buy the ticket on the bus. This is a bit different from other HOHO buses I’ve taken where the tickets at popular stops are sold on the street. The result was that the bus spent a very long time at some stops – twenty minutes in one case and at least ten minutes in several others. By the time we got to the Coliseum, I decided it wasn’t worth it and decided to walk the rest of the way. Took me fifteen minutes to walk along the road and pass the next HOHO stop and I never saw my bus pass me, so it must have spent at least that much time sitting at the Coliseum. Given how everything in Rome is in a compact area, the HOHO isn’t worth it. The commentary was basic and hard to understand through the static as well.

I walked all the way down to the Pyramid of Cestius, one of the best preserved Roman structures in the city.

The pyramid was built in 12 CE, more than thirty years after the Romans had attacked the Kingdom of Meroe (modern day Sudan). The pyramid appears to be modeled after the steep-sided Nubian pyramids and was likely built to commemorate the victory. Another pyramid, the Pyramid of Romulus, was built between the Vatican and Castel Sant’Angelo but it was dismantled in the 16^th century and the marble used for the steps to St. Peter’s Basilica.

The pyramid was incorporated into the Aurilean walls as a cost-saving measure between 271 and 275 CE. The section of the wall around the pyramid is in good condition.

Including the Porta San Paolo.

After a look around, I headed back to the Circus Maximus.

I found the next HOHO stop and took it back to Castel Sant Angelo. Truth be told, I needed a bathroom and could not find one anywhere. I had to go back to the hotel directly. I headed out again for a short walk around the Castel Sant Angelo but couldn’t wait around for sunset as much as I wanted to. It would have been great given that it was a partly cloudy sky. It lit up the Tiber nicely.

But my feet and muscles said they wanted a nice hot shower.

I had to oblige.

 

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