Roma - Day 3

October 1 – The Metro got us quickly to the Vatican Museum. After going through metal detectors and bag-scans, we were free to enter. We had both dressed appropriately to pass the scrutiny of the modesty police (no bare shoulders or shorts). Tour groups tend to come early to the museum so it was pretty crowded for the first part as we made our way directly to the Sistine Chapel. On the way we went through rooms that were painted by Raphael around the same time that Michelangelo was labouring on the Sistine ceiling. These frescoes were for me, some of the most stunningly beautiful murals. The walk to the Sistine Chapel winds through miles of corridors, each one more ornately decorated than the next with tapestries, maps, paintings.
Finally the moment arrived. We stepped through the door behind the altar and were in the room of the master - Michelangelo. This is the only place in the Vatican where no photography is allowed. The crowd was dense and the security guards were at their wits end trying to keep everyone quiet. The crowd was shushed many times during our half hour visit but the recorded message in about 10 languages asking for quiet and admonishing people not to take photos, was far more disturbing than the low murmur of voices. Our downloaded audio guide was an excellent guide to the Michelangelo’s masterpiece on the ceiling and the later “Judgment Day” painting behind the altar.
There are 4 miles of corridors and galleries in the Vatican Museum. We travelled quite a distance as we explored many parts of the museum particularly the Egyptian and Etruscan Galleries. We followed a tip in our travel guide and returned to the Sistine Chapel so that we could exit through the right hand door which leads directly to St. Peter’s Basilica. This popped us outside beside the line up to the Dome and the entrance to the Crypts. As we walked throught the crypts past the shrine to St. Peter and graves of many popes, the sound of hymns could be clearly heard from the Basilica above. The Basilica, designed to inspire awe in the early Catholic congregations, is grand in scale, rich in artwork and pretty much overwhelmingly ostentatious. We sat for a while in the square and enjoyed the symmetry of the pillars.
After lunch at a sidewalk pizzeria, we toured the nearby Castel Sant’ Angelo built as the tomb of Hadrian. It’s had many uses since, including a safe place for popes in turbulent times. There is a long elevated corridor that looks something like an aqueduct that connects the Castel to the Vatican.

Unfortunately Paola was not able to join us for dinner so we decided to explore another area of Rome. We crossed the river by the Ponte S.Angelo, lined with statues of angels from the school of Bernini and wound our way through backstreets before recrossing into the Trastevere. This formerly gritty working class district is know for its nightlife. I remembered going there for dinner as a student a long, long time ago. I even remembered the name of the restaurant and surprisingly it was still in business, but it had a distinctly tourist-trap aura to it, so we went looking for something else. After some random wandering we selected Ai Spaghettari Vinerria which claimed to have been around since 1896. We chose well. Another delicious Italian meal with wine from local Lazio region.