For Roman Catholics all over the world, a visit St. Peter's Basilica is the pilgrimage of choice, and for non-Catholics, the experience is just as holy. This was one of the things that I had on my "Bigger than I thought it would be" list, and boy, it was much bigger than I thought it would be. At 220 m long, 150 m wide, and 138 m tall (730 x 500 x 452 feet) it was a big deal just to get into it.
A nonbeliever (of Catholicism, of religion, etc.) would be hard-pressed not be impressed by the interior of the church. Especially, if, upon walking in, you saw two beams of light streaming in from the windows, shining directly on the alter. There was a sense of great peace in the building, that was not really felt in the Sistine Chapel (because of too many feet walking around), as well as an atmosphere of religious piety. It's easy to see how people could convert upon walking into a place such as this. It was that kind of wow moment. (Also, church outfit: day 2)
One of Michelangelo's masterpieces, the Pieta, is also featured in St. Peter's Basilica. The sculpture depicts Mary, holding Jesus after the crucifixion, and is one of the few things on the "smaller than I thought" list. This may be because the statue was placed behind glass, a couple meters away from the public, so it seemed smaller. It may also be because the rest of St. Peter's was just that vast that it overshadowed the Pieta just a little bit.
Another thing we later discovered, after coming back the next day to 5:30 PM Mass, but I feel like I should put in this section, was the discovery of bronze casts of popes who had been super important in the history of church. Now there were many marble statues of popes and such, but it was a little weird to see bronze casts of popes lying there as if interred. What was much weirder to find out was that the actual remains of Pope John XXIII were also on display in the church.
I'm not sure how I feel about this yet. Comments appreciated.
There is really no way you can have your fill of St. Peter's Basilica, but we wanted to make a couple more stops before leaving. One of which was to the ROOF! Yes, for a nominal fee, you too, can climb the dome of St. Peter's. After so much walking though, we opted to be not as hardcore, and took the lift up. This took us to an area of the dome where we could see everything that was going on below, including the 5 PM mass services.You can see all the people sitting there and also, I think, the chorus, who were serenading us with sweet, sweet music. It was very interesting to see mass from above, especially because I had never seen one before, but everyone was so small that I could not really tell what they were doing [we were really high upppp]. What I did get a great view of though, was the inside of the dome, and the mosaics on them.
And we walked up and up and up and for those who are claustrophobic, I would recommend you think twice about doing this because the spaces for you to walk up the dome are pretty narrow.
But the view from the top is worth it.
St. Peter's Basilica makes me think of Angel's and Demons (never seen the movie, never will).
ReplyDeleteAlso, Pope John XXIII looks remarkably well preserved, such to the point that I would raise questions.
I also like his shoes. Very sensible, fashion forward loafers. Stylish, yet comfortable, bedroom slippers.
Also, you need more pictures with yourself in them.
There's actually an Angels and Demons tour of the Vatican. Not sure if that's what it's actually called, but basically, you get a private tour of the places you don't get to see in the Vatican Museum, like in the catacombs and stuff and it's supposed to be pretty darned awesome. However, you have to book it really far in advance so we have the chance to go do it.
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