"On the Trail"
Thursday, August 2, 2001: La Cappella Sistina (The Sistine Chapel) - Rome to Sabaudia (train)
Frank here…
What was this day's highlight you ask? Without a hesitation I will answer, "The Sistine Chapel" What was this week's highlight you ask? Without a hesitation I will answer, "The Sistine Chapel" What was this month's highlight you ask? Without a hesitation I will answer, "The Sistine Chapel" What was one of this trip's highlights you ask? Without a hesitation I will answer, "The Sistine Chapel"
What an awesome sight of the Michelangelo masterpiece(s) - The Creation on the ceiling and The Last Judgement on the end wall. The vibrant colours of his two series of frescoes were complemented by the adjacent art by other famous Renaissance painters such as Botticelli and Ghirlandaio that were restored in the 1980's and 90's.
The Creation which took Michelangelo four years to create (pun intended) on the barrel vaulted ceiling was commissioned by Pope Juluis II (on 1508) to Michelangelo who never really considered himself much of a painter. He was commissioned to paint a much less auspicious project of a depiction the apostles. Instead, finishing on Oct 31, 1512, he envisioned and completed a much grander project. The most moving for me was the Creation of Adam which shows God's and Adam's arms outstretched towards each other. I have seen this many times before, but in real life it put tears to my eyes. I then realized my father's good influence in helping me attain this appreciation of Michelangelo's artistry.
I remember staring up at the ceiling and looking around and seeing all the other visitors looking up as well and wondering to myself, "Why don't they have reclining chairs or some type of neck resting device - someone would make a fortune if they could invent something cheap and light to rest on someone's neck to look up for a long time." I also remembered how the paintings on the ceiling looked three dimensional. Photography and noise was definitely prohibited in the entire museum.
Twenty four years later Michelangelo was commissioned by Pope Clement VII to paint the controversial Last Judgement. One of the controversies was due to the many paintings of naked men. For quite sometime these paintings were painted over with clothes only to finally be restored in their original forms.
The Sistine Chapel which was just one little section of a series museums in the Vatican Museum. Some of the others were the Egyptian Museum, Chiaramonti Museum, Museum Of Popes Clement XIV And Pius VI Gregorian, and the Museum Of Etruscan Art. I was only there for about three hours and would suggest that two full days would not have given me enough time to view the different venues.
Earlier that morning I decided to take an elevator up the dome of St. Peters. Yes, I could have walked the whole way but I had three good excuses… OK? Here they are: first I had little time to climb because I planned to take a bus or train back to Sabaudia, second, because it was hot and I did not want to get sweaty and lastly, because my knee was not well so I did not want to injure it more - maybe, just maybe, I was just plain lazy. Ha ha! You know, when there is a will there is a way and the same goes for the opposite. Once at the top of the elevator, we still had to climb the angular stairs which were paralleled by sloping walls as we climbed up towards the top of the dome. At the top was a striking view of Rome from 119 metres above the ground.
Once I left the museum and St. Peter's I was on a mission to find the music store that sold Patricia Prati's CD. I realized that I was running out of time in order to make it back before dark to the camp at Sabaudia where my bike was waiting for me. So, I decided to hail a cab. When we negotiated a price, I was a bit bothered by the high price, but the cab driver and I became friends, and as a result his price dropped by the time he dropped me off.
I started to feel rushed but made it successfully to the store called Recordi on Via di Corso and found the CD by Patricia. Cool! I then headed to see the world famous Fontana di Trevi. It was worth the rush to see it but unfortunately the afternoon heat along with my decision to leave Rome before too late, made my visit too short. I will have to come again. Another cab ride to gli termini (the terminals) got me a bit too late for a train but I knew that a bus was a good plan "B", and with a few questions and quick moving I was on the next bus south.
I made it back in time to have my last swim in the Tyrrhenian Sea, set up my tent, have dinner then go out with Anna Claudia and Sonia and visit with their many friends. Whew! My goodness. My last night in Italy! It has been an awesome experience. From meeting my extended family to figuring out how to read the train schedules; and from riding in searing heat to cooling down in the relatively cooler but still warm waters of the sea, I will cherish these very fond memories of Italy.
-When there is a will there is a way and the same goes for the opposite.
-Frank Pollari
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