Greetings! For my final few days in Rome, I wanted to tackle its holy places. I knew that, especially for the Vatican, I would need to wait in line for a while to get in. However, as fate would have it, my stay in Rome would coincide with a historic event that really threw a wrench in my plans.
If you haven’t heard the news yet, Pope Francis is dead. He died on Monday the 21st, the day after I arrived. So, during my stay in Rome, the whole city was in a bit of a frenzy. However, I didn’t really feel any effect up until I decided to visit Santa Maria Maggiore and the Vatican. I visited Santa Maria Maggiore (Saint Mary Major) first, since I knew it was going to close soon, as that was where the Pope wanted to be buried. Clearly, I wasn’t the only one with this idea. The church was almost completely full, with both tourists wanting to see it before it closed and faithful mourning the Pope. There was a bit of a line, but nothing too major since I had arrived early. The outside of the church was relatively unassuming. It wasn’t colorful like the Duomo in Florence, and it wasn’t engraved like those in Paris. However, the inside was a completely different story. The roof is gilded beyond belief, while paintings and sculptures line the walls. What stuck out to me the most was the altar. It was roofed, with four pillars supporting the roof. I had never seen that type of altar before, so I was very enamored by it. Santa Maria Maggiore also has a small underground museum, where it displays relics and other holy objects. My favorite was a relic in the shape of an arm holding a quill, with a saint’s arm bone being kept inside. Unfortunately, due to the period of mourning, many of the side altars were closed for prayer, so I wasn’t able to get any pictures, and it ended up being a shorter visit than I anticipated. One thing that is good about Santa Maria Maggiore is that entry to both the church and museum are free, so there’s really no reason not to go.
The next day was the Vatican. In order to get in and still have time to see everything, I woke up nice and earthly and arrived at the entrance to Saint Peter’s Basilica at 8am. Despite this, I still had to wait 2 hours until I got let in. This was because it was the last day before the Vatican closed and began the Conclave to elect the new Pope. All the waiting, however, gave me ample time to admire the exterior of the basilica. It really is massive, bigger than any other church I’ve been to. The square in front of it was also massive, and the two semicircles of pillars gave it a nice vertical dimension. The real fun started once I entered the basilica. I don’t think I’ve seen as much gold before in my life. Almost everything is gilded, and there are some things made of pure gold, and whatever isn’t made of or covered in gold is perfectly white marble. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to go and admire every side altar and sculpture because all visitors were restricted to a line in the middle of the basilica. Normally this isn’t the case, but this was no ordinary day. Instead, we were railroaded to the center altar where Pope Francis’s body was exposed for people to pay their respects. The altar was very similar to the one seen in Santa Maria Maggiore, except this one had spiral pillars, which gave it a really cool look. Of course, I paid my respects to the late Pope, and even attended a mass to mourn the loss (though I only understood a bit of it, since it was in Italian). The retroquire was also really beautiful. A small stained glass window depicting the holy spirit in the form of a dove is surrounded by cherubs and beams of light made of pure gold, all supported by four onyx black saints with gold robes.
After seeing the basilica, I then made my way to see the Vatican museum. I had to wait another 2:30 hours, but I finally got in. The museum is full of all kinds of art from all over time. It has Egyptian statues, Roman sculpture, medieval tapestries, and even contemporary art. At the very end of the museum is one of Italy’s most famous attractions, Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. Despite the no photos rule that was in place, I was still able to get a few quick photos of the ceiling. However, photos really can’t do it justice. Despite being two-dimensional paintings, Michelangelo’s work somehow makes everything look almost three-dimensional with surreal depth. He even painted fake columns to give the illusion of an even higher ceiling. The color also really struck me. Everything is so detailed and rendered in such vibrant colors that it makes every small detail shine. My only regret is that I was not able to admire the work for longer, as I got kicked out due to closing time at 8pm (Yes, I was at the Vatican for 10 hours). Unfortunately, I was not able to see the Vatican gardens, since they were closed due to the state of emergency.
In conclusion, what did I think of Rome? Well, unlike Florence, Rome is a very large and international city, like Paris. If you want to get around, you need to get a metro and bus ticket. Thankfully, you can buy them at any metro entrance, and they even have a one week unlimited use card. Food is also cheaper due to the amount of fast-food and small takeout places. One thing that really stood out to me was the greenery. Due to the ruins and archaeological sites present in Rome, there is an abundance of trees and grass around the city, as well as many parks scattered throughout. It really surprised me just how green everything is. It definitely gave a different vibe to the city than Paris.
Well, that wraps up my break. Despite how much I’ll miss being in Italy and seeing so many new things, I feel like I was able to really discover and come to understand both cities, and I’m satisfied with my vacation.
