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Vatican City |
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One of the women we met at the hostel went to the Vatican the day before we did, and she gave us information on how to get there. We hopped an early morning bus, and rode out. We took our passports just in case (it is another country, you know) but they didn't stamp us. We got off the bus, and walked through a large opening. We found ourselves in the middle of this huge courtyard. There are two almost-semi-circles of pillars- one is above. The statues are of the saints. This is so that people who visit feel a big hug from arms of stone pillars, and feel in the midst of saints and realize that all people can and should aspire to sainthood. The big Obelisk has a history of its own- Peter, previously known as Simon, christaned by Jesus as the Rock, is regarded to be the first Pope. He was crucified upside down by the Romans, after he said that he felt unworthy to die in the same manner as Jesus. Supposedly in the square where he was crucified, there was this Obelisk. Word has it that Peter's eyes might have rested on this Obelisk as he was dying... I'm skeptical. Anyways, centuries later, the Romans (who had become christians) rededicated this Obelisk. Hmm. All the chairs and such are here because the Pope says mass weekly on Wednesdays and Sundays for anybody who wants to show up. They sit in the chairs if they get there early enough. |
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Same pillars, just the other side of the hug, from the outside walking in. |
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TaDaa! The Basilica. St. Peter's Basilica to be exact, since there are apparently other Basilicas. More on that when you get to see my Venice pictures. So, this is the big cheese church of Catholicism. Its site is important because it is supposedly built on top of Peter's (referenced earlier) burial spot and/or bones. Somehow people found Peter's bones in the catacombs among hundreds of thousands of other bones of other martyrs and people who the Romans just didn't care for, and decided to build a church - first underground when it was illegal, then as it became ok, the church grew. After the dark ages, the thing was falling apart, so they rebuilt it to be this. The statues on the top are of Jesus (in the middle), Mary, and 10 of the original disciples. For obvious reasons, Judas didn't get a statue here. Peter isn't on top of the roof, he's the guy to the front on the left. Paul is over on the right, outside of the camera's view. In the very middle of the building, you see the balcony from which the Pope says mass. You can also see the dome peeking over the top. More on that later. |
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Inside the Basilica- man. Lots of stuff. There are buried ex-popes, some of whom are in clear caskets with their preserved faces just sitting there, others have gold or silver masks over their preserved faces. Ick. Each pope has a little tomb area, with statues. In general, these statues are extravagent, and idealized- they're surrounded by their "virtues" in the shapes of women (see above) for "chastity" or "justice" or "charity" or whatever they or their relatives thought would be a fitting tribute. Most of them are in what I like to call "popely" poses, with their pope hat and robes on, with their hand extended in what would be the movements of cross-blessing somebody. These are all, naturally, ridiculously expensive and, in my opinion, a joke, considering the illegitimate children and scandals and such. But whatever. If you're offended, I'm sorry, but its my page. |
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Speaking of extravagant... this is the crazy huge gold alter-thing that chills above what is supposedly St. Peter's bones. Lovely, no? There's a statue of Peter along one of the columns, and the feet are basically rubbed into nothingness because all the folks who are visiting as a pilgrimage (not just for the fun of it, like moi) kiss and rub the feet. Don't ask me, man. |
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Another Pope, another Pose. |
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Ahh, the Dome. It is a magnificent work of architecture, crafted by the brilliant Michaelangelo. This basilica went through like 6 different architects over like 200 years. The first guys designed it wanting a huge dome, but didn't know how to do it. They left it for somebody else to figure out. Mike was the 2nd to last, and he figured it out (yay) though he died before the thing was finally built. Crazy. Its got some sort of writing around that top circle, but its in Latin.. the only part I can make out is SIXTVS. I assume Pope Sixtus. Whatev. |
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| The great marble pope list. SVMMI PONTIFICES, "All Popes" basically. It has their pope names, and the year in which they began their rule of popeliness. Although, realist that I am, I noticed that eventually this list will not fit them all. Wouldn't it suck to get to be the pope, but be the only dude that doesn't fit on the list? Ouch. Also, if you'll check out the lower left corner, the list doesn't go down as far as the other two columns. I wonder why. |
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Last picture of my stay in Vatican City (also, can I point out that I love day trips to other countries?) We headed to the Sistine Chapel. If you ever go there, consider yourself warned- its connected to SO many other chapels, I couldn't even count. You're stuck in this long line of people, wandering room to room, entering each one and staring at the ceiling, hoping its THE one. And, invariably, it isn't. No joke, it took us 1.5 hours to get from the door to the Sistine Chapel. And that's us getting bored after 10 minutes and ignoring all the art and stuff just walking, trying to get there. Augh. That said, it was worth it. That damn thing is beautiful. You're not allowed to take pictures, and you're supposed to be quiet- so these guards are standing there yelling at you to be quiet and put away cameras. I didn't break the rules (in hindsight, I should have) so I have no pictures of that. Sorry. Anyways, it was awesome. After that, you shuffle out through the requisite gift shop. It was awesome. On the way out, you walk down a double helix staircase (above) which is also pretty darn cool. |
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