(editor note - This got lost in the shuffle and was never sent out. It was from two weeks ago, Sorry for the confusion)
Ann (the organized) arranged two tours of the Vatican for today. The first was with a company that provides a private tour of the Sistine Chapel. The company we were using usually takes about 6 to 10 people per tour. For some odd reason, there were only 2 of us. Were were getting a "special" private tour. Our guide was a stylishly dressed Italian woman with fish net stockings and a thick accent. She gave us a 10 minute tutorial on the Sistine Chapel and its history while we waited in line.
The tour company advertises that it has "special" permission that allows them access to the Vatican museum before the "regular" people are allowed in. In truth the way this works is a lot like South West Airlines. There are a number of lines: A, B, C... which they let in one group at a time. We were part of the "B" groups. The "A" group was the "very special" people who must have the Pope's cell phone number. After the "A" line went through, the "B" was let in. What happened next is what I call the Running of the Tourist. There were about 4 "B" tour groups lining up with us to get in. Once we were given the ok to enter, our guide had us race through the museum to the Sistine Chapel. The different groups ran neck in neck through the museum racing for the chapel while the guides prodded people to move along. Like herding sheep, sometimes people sometimes would stop to view one item or another in this continuous line of amazing art only to have our guide scolded us to move along. Once we arrived at the Sistine Chapel, we had about 20 minutes with only about 20 people in it.
Believe it or not, It was nice to have an uncrowded opportunity to view the chapel. Normally you are elbow to elbow with 200 other people with guards constantly "shushing" you or tell you "No Photos". It was nice to have a quite experience in the chapel with all this beautiful art.
After we left the chapel, we took a more leisurely tour of the Vatican Museum (including the area we were rushed through) and of St Peter's Basicalla. I am enclosing photos of Hellenistic sculptures (people looking stone faced, forgive the pun) and of the Baroque type(with more emotion and motion in the forms). One fun fact from our guide, some of the artist sometimes would include picture of there friends or patrons in the art work. Enclosed is one example, showing Michelangelo, Leonardo Di Vinci and a guy who looks surprising like Sylvester Stallone.
After the museum we then toured the Basliica. Our guide told us a story of Pope Celestino V. To tell you the truth, I never heard of the guy, he lived 700 years ago. Enclosed is a photo him a glass casket. Apparently he was important enough to be put on display. When the church was setting up the display they encountered a problem. When they tried to put him in the casket, he didn't fit. Since he was in no position to object, as our guide said, "we made the pope fit the casket instead of the casket to fit the pope". I am not sure how they shorten him but he seems to fit in nicely now.
After lunch we had a tour of the Tomb of Saint Peter and the Necropolis under the Vatican. They let in only 250 people a day and Ann hand arranged for this at least 6 months before. Our guide as a graduate student from Texas. He was friendly, enthusiastic and easy to understand. They took us into the catacombs in grouts of 8. The catacombs were very hot and very humid. By the end we were all covered with sweat and ready for a drink.
The understanding is that the alter of St. Peter's Basilica was built directly over St Peter's tomb. The current St Peter's is in fact the second basilica. The first was torn down and rebuilt in the 16th century. The first was built during the reign of Constantine I in about AD 330. To construct in the foundation, they build up the ground around an old Roman cemetery where they think Peter was buried. In the 1950s the Vatical started to dig under the alter to see what they can find. They carefully tunneled under the alter and in 1968 they found a Roman grave site with a number of bodies. One was from the correct time and was missing his feet. The missing feet is important because when someone was crucified upside down, the Romans would leave them up for a while(usually until they fell off). Thus the bodies were usually missing feet. Our guide went to great lengths to describe the evidence found by the church to support that this was St. Peter. I am not sure how confident they are about the original location. I don't think this will pass the NCIS standard of evidence but it was interesting.
Also enclosed are some photos of the Vatican gardens and us in front of St Peters. Until next time,
Ciao
Bill
