I promised to keep this post short and sweet so I’ll aim to do just that. Today in one word, exhausting. So much so, I write this from our apartment bed, Nic snoozing, air-con whacked up on high and all intentions to doze off soon too.
Today was Vatican day. In all honesty, I’m not going to write much about it, not because it isn’t one of the most noteworthy attractions to visit in Rome/Europe/World, but because I wouldn’t be able to find the words to sum it up properly. Nor could any amount of pictures do it justice.
At 8am we had breakfast here, on the top floor of the Vatican Museums, before taking the best part of 4.5 hours to explore the collections, ending of course, with the Sistine Chapel.
The Raphael rooms were astonishing but as I said, no picture does the artist justice. You have to see it to believe it, even if it isn’t your kind of art.
Another highlight, and one collection I was keen to see, having read up on it and been recommended it from so many, was the Map Room. Utterly outstanding and in my opinion, one of the most beautiful corridors of showcased art in the building.
More of an unexpected surprise, but one of our favourite parts of the Vatican Museums, was the collection of contemporary religious art before you reach the Sistine Chapel. From Matisse and Marini to Klee and Kandinsky, modern artists are given the space to represent their ideas of religion and it was absolutely fascinating.
There were two exhibitions I particularly liked, one from Henri Matisse which I would have expected seeing as I am already a fan. The other was from a Marino Marini, an artist I hadn’t come across until today but really liked. If anyone can find a print of his ‘Cavallo Rosso’ or Red Horse then do let me know!
Now please don’t all gasp at once when I tell you that my first thought of the Sistine Chapel was “is that it?”. I just couldn’t help feeling a little underwhelmed. Perhaps the build up had let it down. I have no idea what I expected, except more, I guess. Some of the churches we have stumbled upon down a random street have wowed me more than this did.
The rest of the day went as follows; beer stop, walk, panini stop (La Salumaria is a great lunch stop!), walk, Chiesa Nuova (lovely church), Piazza Navona, Chiesa San’Agnese (another excellent church with the skull of dear little St. Agnes immortalised behind glass), walk, Chiesa San Luigi dei Francesi (the national church of France in Italy and home to a trio of Caravaggio paintings to see for free!), walk, the Pantheon (❤️), water stop, walk walk walk, home…collapse.
So I leave you with some pictures of the beautiful Piazza Navona, the wonderful freebie Caravaggio paintings we saw and finally the delectable Pantheon, home to entombed kings of Italy and the wonderful Raphael, whose frescos adorned the walls and ceilings of the Vatican Museum rooms dedicated to the very same. Time for us to eat, sleep, repeat…or perhaps not. Stay tuned to find out!
Travelling Coltman’s 