Days 21-22: Papal address & Musei Vaticani

I saw the Pope!  In all his holy pope-y-ness!
I just like saying pope-y.  Pope-y Pope.

Once again this was another excursion no one else really wanted to go on because of how early we would have to be up.  Like come on guys, if it's not on the itinerary you gotta MAKE the time for it.  Oh well, their loss.

Rosie proposed the idea the night before and was all for it.  We didn't have any tickets so we figured we would have to get there early and get them.  We left St. John's at 6 AM to get there around 6:30, to beat the crowd and the line.  It was a gorgeous morning.  Nice and chilly, the day was just beginning, there was almost no one out, especially those pesky, annoying and smelly street vendors.  It was a wonderful walk to the Vatican, simply calm and tranquil, maybe one of my favorite moments in Rome so far.  Without all the people, without all the cars, without all the noise of the city.  Calm.

At the Vatican the people began to mass at the entrances, but we were able to secure a spot relatively close up to the gates.  As to where to get tickets was uncertain, as no one was able to pass the blocked gates.  Everyone seemed to have tickets out and ready, causing some worry on our part.  But after we asked around we were told we were in the correct line, so that eased our worries for the time being.  For an hour or so we waited and talked to a group that was from New York (I believe) and fended off the obnoxious street vendors who wanted to sell us pope-flags.  They really annoy me.  Apparently the Italians don't think the same however, since I saw a handful of them buying Pope-flags.  Hmm.  I try not to support their practice in hopes that it eventually dies out.  Me and my lofty dreams I guess.

After the floodgates opened though the pace picked up dramatically.  People were running to line up at the metal detectors, even little old ladies were moving along and pushing to get by me!  Apparently the Pope is a pretty big deal or something...  But before we partook in the sprint to the seats, we still had to find tickets.  Rosie asked one of the guards where we could get them, and he told us to just go on through, no one checks them anyways.  Ha! Awesome! So we did exactly that.

We were officially in attendance of a papal address.  In the Vatican.  Like, THE Vatican.  Being a part of that crowd was like being at a concert, like when the gates open and everyone runs to the front, just less intense due to the varied age ranges and groups of people.  Everyone from children to older citizens were there to see and hear Pope Francesco.  In an hour the whole place was packed.

People packed into Piazza San Pietro for the papal address.

Someone came out to read off a list of groups present for the papal address, which created random bits of applause to ring throughout the piazza.  It was so cool to hear groups yelling and cheering all the way from the entrance to the piazza when their group was called.  People from all over the world were present, and it took at least five translators (that's when I stopped counting) to read through them all.  We even heard our own group, somehow over the crowd, "St. Johns University, Rome campus," and we high-fived in celebration.

I say I lost count of the translators and somehow managed to hear our group's announcement because sometime in middle of the announcements the Pope came out to greet the people, totally unannounced.  How humble.  Or maybe this is how they all do it, I don't know.  Pope Francesco made his rounds through the crowd on his little pope-mobile, with his little pope-hat, greeting the crowd and kissing lots and lots of babies.  I was able to snag a few shots of him from my vantage point standing on my chair, but was more exciting was to hear how the crowd chanted his name and rushed to the edge of the path to try and get as close as they could to him.  The children were shouting the same Italian phrases the parents and other adults were, and they chanted his name in unison as he passed.  To hear their voices, see their determination to get to him, and feel the love and passion they had for Pope Francesco was worth the whole experience right there.  I am not particularly religious, but to see greater determination and pride in the Italian people for their Pope than they had during Festa della Repubblica drew a sharp comparison for me, and for the first time I felt how important this figure truly is.

Pope Francesco.

Rosie had noted that he seemed to take his time at this part, stopping frequently to kiss all the babies and show his love for the people.  I have nothing to compare this experience to, but Rosie, as a Catholic who has more experience with Pope stuff, said that he did seem to show a greater amount of compassion than other popes have.  So I'll take her word for it, and you should too.

The address itself was very formal and each translator got a chance to speak on the people's behalf, thanking the Pope for being there today, for all that he does, for how special he is, that kinda stuff.  When he spoke it was in Italian mostly, like for his address to the people.  Something I noticed and really appreciated was how he didn't necessarily stick to his script, frequently looking up and speaking his mind and elaborating on what he just read off.  I'm not sure if he writes his own speeches or has others do it, like our leadership figures in America, but even though I couldn't understand what he was saying I appreciated that he didn't simply read verbatim from his papers.

All and all it was definitely a great experience, and I learned to respect this figure much more than I previously did, I'll admit.  It was the collective conscious of the people in attendance, the love in the people's eyes and voices, and the little things about Pope Francesco I described which left the biggest impression on me.  All the great Italians I have met on my travels so far seem to echo this common idea of love, compassion, kindness and unity, and I love it.  I can feel it changing me.

Anyways, the rest of my day was spent as a free day, relaxing and recouping, but evidently not blogging.  When I finally have the time, I find that I still have so much that I want to do out in this gorgeous city with friends.

And on the following day, the Vatican Museum was breathtaking, more so I think than the Uffizi.
But I think that is because I recognized more artist names and works, and enjoyed the Sistine Chapel greatly as well.  I was more prepared coming to the Musei Vaticani and had some more background on the works than those in the Uffizi and that definitely let me enjoy it much more.

I saw so much there it's impossible to recollect it all, but some of the highlights include the Stefaneschi Triptych by Giotto, works by Raffaello Sanzio, including the Coronation of the Virgin, Madonna of Foligno, Transfiguration, Sistine Chapel Tapestries from the Raphael Cartoons, and the famous Raphael Rooms, containing works such as The Vision of the Cross, Deliverance of Saint Peter and one of my personal favorites, The School of Athens, St. Jerome in the Winderness by Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Communion of St. Jerome by Domenichino, The Martyrdom of St. Erasmus by Nicholas Poussin, and The Entombment of Christ by Caravaggio.  Also present in the gallery was the Apollo Belvedereand Laocoön from Greek antiquity, which were incredible pieces to behold.

Raffaello has made his way up higher in my ranking of great Renaissance artists.  I was blown away by the Raphael Rooms and how the works within each room interact with one another.  In all the rooms the frescoes depict historical and spiritual events themed to each room, such as how in the Hall of Constantine (which were painted not by the master, but Giulio Romano, Gianfrancesco Penni and Raffaellino del Colle, some of Raffaello's many assistants) each work depicts famous events from Constantine's lifetime.  The next room, the Room of Heliodorus, is all about how God and Christ protect the church and all those who believe.  But the room I took the most interest and appreciation in was the Room of the Signature, where Pope Julius II's personal library was kept and where the most important papal documents where signed, hence the room's name.  This where The School of Athens is located, representing philosophy, in harmonious conjunction with the other frescoes depicting theology, poetry, and justice.  In the corners on the ceiling between each of the four walls are tondos which express characteristics taken from the two walls they rest between, exemplifying the unifying theme of harmony between philosophy, theology, poetry and justice, and exalting "the highest forms of the human spirit... that is to say Truth, Goodness and Beauty."  These relationships are what really blew me away.  To see not just individual works from a master artist, wholly complete within themselves, but to see how these relate around the room to propose a greater depth and meaning to the room in its entirety... wow.  I was simply speechless.

And the Sistine Chapel was nothing short of what I imagined it would be.  It was quite dimly lit though, probably for conservation of the frescoes, but I still enjoyed very much seeing this magnificent work of art by one of my favorite artists ever, Michelangelo.  I see why people bring those little binoculars to this place, and I am now kicking myself in the butt for not doing that myself.  Ah well, I might be making the trip back to the musei if I can read the book I got from there cover-to-cover before I leave Rome, so perhaps next time.

Such beauty in a single day, I don't see how one cannot be moved to learn the reasons why, the narratives and stories behind the work and their creators, and the historical context in which they were created.  So inspired to learn and understand, so that when I return (and I will!) I will have a deeper and more profound appreciation for these incredible artists and what they have created.