Rome - 2022

The angels are said to be God's messengers.  Above all other angels was St. Michael, the Archangel.  So, when a boy was born in 1475 to a banker in the Tuscany region of Italy, they named him after the St. Michael.

                          MICHELANGELO

He grew up to be a painter, a sculptor, and a poet.  He was a superstar in his lifetime, and more so today.  Up to six million visitors a year marvel at his work in Vatican City, and elsewhere around Italy.

Dianne and I have returned from a four-day stay in Rome.  The Caesars attempted to outdo one another with great works, many such works made of marble brought in from Tuscany.  Thus, there is much to see.  Vatican City, the Pantheon, the Colosseum, the Forum, and much more.  Let's start today with the 121 acre Vatican City.  There are some four miles of hallways, all filled with art work from past centuries.  It is almost too much to grasp in one visit.  You see the largest basilica on earth, St. Peter's, as you approach Vatican City.  Michelangelo had much to do with build out and painting in the ceiling.

A model of Vatican City, including the famed Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica is shown below.

The Plaza.

I had to fight the crowds to get close to Michelangelo's Pieta in St. Peter's.  He was 24 years old when he carved it.  Many skeptics could not believe he could do such fine work so he carved his name in stone upon it.  He did not need to do that again.  

St. Peter's Basilica raises some 300 feet, the length of a football field, and pictures can not fully depict the majesty of it all.  Thank you Michelangelo.  Looking up, I snapped this picture.

How big is St. Peter's Basilica?

  

You can not take pictures in the Sistine Chapel, but you are allowed to sit or stand in silence for as long as you wish.  You can only imagine Michelangelo up on scaffolds, working away for years, with a grand vision for some 300+ characters.  Yes, a masterpiece indeed.

You can walk for hours through the Vatican Museum and view the art.  Here are a number of my photos to give you a feel.  Most of the work is in marble.  Unfortunately, the works in bronze were melted down for weaponry over the centuries.

Next, the Colosseum.  Stay tuned.