Sistine Chapel

I saw it many moons ago and it WAS truly awesome! Do I die now?

Yes, a Ms. Shakespear. Her cousin became capo de tuti capo of the Jesuits over here, he was the one who showed us all the secret chambers under the Vatican. Oooh I've lived, and may well live again.

As early as we got there, the lines had already formed outside of the Vatican Museum.Luckily for us, the museum opens up at 8:00 A.M. for tour groups and not until 8:45 to the general public.Nora, our guide, had gotten us there as the second group in line. She told us that the normal wait could be up to two hours with a line winding back a mile or so into St.Peter’s square. Nora shepherded us through the entrance way and via the elegantly paneled elevators, to the second floor level of the Vatican Museum. Nora was taking us directly to the Sistine Chapel, bypassing the rest of the museum in order to give us time to better enjoy the chapel unhurriedly. As we walked the length of the ornately decorated hallways of the Vatican Museum, Nora pointed out the array of wall-sized painted arras completed by Raphael and his students. Then, there were the tiled religious frescoes in bright greens and vivid blues. Trump L’oeil paintings along the ceiling gave us the impression of three dimensional sculptures hovering above us. It was a world of elegance and taste and beauty. Next, we entered the quiet precincts of the Sala Immaculata Conceptione,an intimate little chapel adorned with grand murals honoring the Immaculate Conception of Mary, a primary tenet of church dogma. Finally, we walked down a few steps into that sanctum sanctorum , il Sistina Chapella. Built by Pope Sixtus IV as a private Chapel, the church was divided into an inner and outer chapel, separated by a 12 foot, ornate, wrought-iron screen. The 40 foot walls are geometrically separated into four distinct art groupings. The first fifteen feet are painted as purple velvet curtains.The texture of the work leads you, from a distance, to watch the curtains lest they move. Next, along each longitudinal wall is a series of six grand murals some 12 feet high. Three are the works of the master, Botticelli, the others by Perugino and his school, depicting biblical scenes and medieval Italy. The third level is an evenly spaced depiction of a series of Popes, perhaps a sop to the financiers of the chapel.Lastly, in small triangles and created in a special paint by Michelangelo that is a collage of vivid oranges, blues,reds and peaches,are the prophets of the old testament like Daniel and Ezekiel. The rear wall of the chapel is an entire chapel sized mural that had taken Michelangelo 7 years to complete.It depicts many scenes from the final judgment day.It would take a long time to decipher all of the images present there. It seems Michailangelo wasn’t above a fit of pique ,depicting a troublesome Vatican secretary as a horned devil in hell. It is nice to know that even geniuses are human. Finally, we come to the most prized of artworks, the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.Starting in 1508, under the stern direction of Pope Julius II,Michelangelo painted, in four years, a series of ceiling wide panels depicting God’s creation of the universe ,the original sin in the garden of eden,Noah and the flood. In his first two panels Michelangelo noted that his perspective was crowded.The remaining panels are wider spaced and more sweeping in design.His vivid colors command your attention as the symbolism of his depictions follows in timely sequence the story of creation. The grand pyramids of Egypt are similarly encripted. As always, the painters and artists speak to the ages.

Finally got to see it a few weeks ago. We were so full of expectation, I just wish the museum had been laid out differently. I'm not naturally claustrophobic but what with the heat and the crowds, it began to feel like Ikea. We kept following the signs to 'Cappella Sistina' but never seemed to get there. The galleries we passed through were stunning, but there were so many of them... Wow - look at the craftmanship - I reckon the Sistine Chapel's just round the next... No? Another gallery? Beautiful. Blimey, the Pope's got a few bob hasn't he? Look at that gold leaf... And another gallery - Lovely tapestries... Jeez it's hot in here... another stunning ceiling... wish I could take these shoes off. Look, Sistine Chapel that way! This must be it! Ooh, so excited... No, another gallery... yeah, all those colours, yeah fantastic... God I'm thirsty... you haven't got a blister plaster, have you? Next corner? Yay! No? An exhibition of modern religious art? How many rooms? Sixteen! Oh, ffs! Yeah nice sculpture thing... whatever... My feet are killing me. Why have we all stopped? Why have we all STOPPED? We're never getting out of here, are we? There is no chapel. This is the Vatican equivalent of the Hotel California, isn't it? Really? Are we really about to enter the Sistine Chapel? Really?... really? Thank God for that - look there's a space on that bench, quick - we can sit down before we all pass out. Nice ceiling. ~ www.fabulousmother.co.uk

Ooh yes - that would have made a huge difference. Because of the crush, we couldn't really get a proper impression of it as we walked (shuffled) in. It was noisy too. It was only when we were leaving through the door at the other end and briefly looked back towards the alter that we sort of got the impact of it. I'd like to go back to Rome out of season. ~ www.fabulousmother.co.uk