A Rambling Writer Rerun: Italy, part 10: The Vatican Museums

Your virtual Italy vacation continues with Thor and me as we hit highlights of the magnificent collections in the Vatican Museums.

NOTE: For a virtual vacation and time-travel, join Thor and me in 2008. Italy! Starting with highlight photos posted here on Saturday, June 15, I’ll continue this rerun series every week, with occasional interruptions for other Geezer Adventures. Join us in Rome, Florence, Cinque Terre, Venice, and Milan. Buon viaggio!

The Vatican Museums are housed in several interconnected structures that were built as papal palaces over several centuries. The popes had collected an amazing array of important secular and religious art, and the reorganization as a series of museums open for viewing finally happened in the 18th century. I had two “must-see” destinations here — the astounding 1st-century AD marble carving of the Laocoon (above, more later), and the mind-boggling artistry of the fresco paintings of the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo. I regret that Thor and I didn’t have time to spend a full day here, which the collections deserve. And I really regret having somehow lost my photos of the trip, but Thor took enough to show the amazing variety. We’ll just have to return some day, since of course we did toss our coins into the Trevi Fountain.

Here we go:

Patience with crowds and long lines required.

Two parallel “halls” run about a quarter-mile each from the entrance to the Sistine Chapel next to St. Peter’s Square and the basilica (see my blog post from March 27). These interconnected galleries, part of previous papal palaces, are sumptuously decorated and lined with sculptures, paintings, and tapestries. One reason for Luther’s Protestant Reformation was to protest the extravagant spending by the popes. The collections and embellishments, whatever your beliefs, remain a source of wonder and preserved history.

I’m posting my complete blog entries on my own author website at www.sarastamey.com, where you can finish this episode and enjoy all the accompanying photos. Please continue reading by clicking on the link below, then you can return here (use “go back” arrow above) to comment, ask questions, or join a conversation. We love your responses!

https://sarastamey.com/the-rambling-writers-italy-part-10-the-vatican-museums/

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You will find The Rambling Writer’s blog posts here every Saturday. Sara’s novel from Book View Cafe is available in print and ebook: The Ariadne Connection — a near-future thriller set in the Greek islands. “Technology triggers a deadly new plague. Can a healer find the cure?”  The novel has received the Chanticleer Global Thriller Grand Prize and the Cygnus Award for Speculative Fiction. Sara is at work on the sequel, The Ariadne Disconnect. Sign up for her quarterly email newsletter at www.sarastamey.com