| Renaissance Rome |
| On the backside of Old Rome, Michelangelo designed this square of official buildings that are still used for government purposes today. These statues are huge. |
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| This is a postcard of the Vatican. The domed center building is St. Peter in Chains, the Vatican Cathedral. The papal residency, museums and official buildings are off to the right. |
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| This, of course, is my actual photgraph. |
| We were not allowed to take pictures during the tour of the Vatican, other than one courtyard and the steps on the way out and, due to a Cardinal's funeral being held, tours through St. Peter's were off as well. We could, however, go in on our own. We did and lo and behold, they wheeled out the Pontiff, himself! |
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| I forget the name of the poor guy who was eaten by serpents in front of his children for warning the Trojans that the wooden horse was a trick, but this sculpture commemorating him is in one of the Vatican courtyards. |
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| The steps leading out of the Vatican. (finger is not part of the tour) |
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| I don't think these pictures can accurately convey the sheer amount of space in this building. The grandeur is unlike anything I have ever laid my own personal eyes on. Try to spot the little Cardinal under that four-poster thingy over the altar. |
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| Your passport to holy relics! |
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| This, of course, is (a postcard!) the Sistine Chapel. No photos were allowed and, every once in a while, the guards would clap loudly and yell for silence. Take a mirror to look at the ceiling so you don't cramp your neck looking up. Apparently, they used to let people lay on the floor to check out the ceiling, but not anymore. And it was packed full of people the day I went, anyway. I might have gotten stepped on. It took Michelangelo four back-wrecking years to paint the ceiling and another four, later in his life, to paint "The Last Judgement" on the back wall. |