Over My Head

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There are many unique highlights that visitors aspire to visit on a trip to the Rome.

There is one, however, that tops the list.

The Sistine Chapel.

Located in Vatican City, the smallest country in the world, the Vatican Museums receive more than six million visitors a year who come to see the seventeen museums that make up the complex. The Sistine Chapel, is the pièce de résistance.

Having been to the Vatican museums many years ago on a couple of occasions, I knew that in order to obtain entrance to the Sistine Chapel, there are many chambers and rooms to pass through and countless masterpieces to study before reaching the famed chapel.

Being the height of the summer season, the line snaked around the exterior of the building and the interior was overloaded, Walking slowly, shoulder to shoulder, we quickly realized that reaching the Sistine Chapel was going to take an extensive amount of time and much jockeying for position.

Passing through the various collections, the Gregorian Profane Museum, Ethnological Missionary Museum, Pinacoteca, Pio-Clementino Museum, Rafaello Rooms and the Chiaramonti Museum, we struggled with the heat and the incessant jostling from other people trying to see what each collection had to offer.

The one thing I realized was that I was enduring this to show my son the glorious treasure that awaited us deep in the museum. A glorious ceiling painted by Michaelangelo…and yet, as I looked here, above me, there were countless paintings over my head. Yes, many artworks on the walls, but each room’s ceilings were painted exquisitely, setting the stage for what was to come.

We admired what we could in each of the galleries, but I kept my head aimed high and marveled at what was above.

Finally, we spotted the signs directing us to the Sistine Chapel!

As we entered the chapel, I immediately snapped a picture of the ceiling and was reprimanded by one of the guards. Making our way into the throng of people passing along the outer wall, I realized that if we kept walking, we were going to leave the chapel without having had the time to inspect what had taken so long to reach. Pushing out of the moving queue, we made our way to the center of the room where there were many people standing.

Protected from guarded eyes by the people around me, I was able to capture a few photographs of the jewel of the Vatican before just taking a few moments to relish the fact that we were indeed in one of the most magnificent holy places and working chapels in the world.

The Sistine Chapel was erected between the years of 1473 and 1481 by architect Giovanni dei Dolci under the orders of Pope Sixtus IV. Although its exterior is nothing spectacular, the interior is what over 6 million visitors come to see annually. Its frescoes on the side walls were painted by Florentine Renaissance masters (1481-1483) and depict the lives of Christ and Moses and various popes. The lowest parts of the side walls are covered for ceremonial occasions, depicting events from the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles and were designed by Raphael (1515-1519).

The most important part of the chapel are the reason all visitors leave with a crook in their necks…the frescoes by Michelangelo on the ceiling and on the west wall behind the altar. The entire collection of frescoes on the ceiling are collectively known as the Sistine Ceiling and were commissioned by Pope Julius II in 1508 depicting incidents and personages from the Old Testament. Many years later (1534-1541), Michaelangelo was commissioned again, by Pope Paul III, to paint the Last Judgment fresco on the west wall.

It is so spectacular, it is almost too much to take in and before long, we realized that we had outstayed our welcome. Reluctantly finding our way to the exit, we entered the Borgia apartments and continued our journey through the remaining parts of the museum.

To see everything that the Vatican Museums has to offer, it would take days. The Vatican Museums encompass the world’s largest private art collection (with its origins dating back to 1503) and most of what is in their possession, not on display. If you are interested in seeing as much as you can of the Vatican Museums, I would recommend starting your day early and having a plan, including a map with the items you are most interested in seeking out. Since on this day, we had hoped to see what we could of the museums, with the Sistine Chapel being our main focus, and St. Peter’s Basilica, we limited ourselves to what little we could achieve.

Me? Since I had been there before on a couple of occasions, I was content that I had seen something new. Never before had I realized what was over my head when I was so mesmerized by all that was around me. I understand that many people have that one opportunity to visit Rome and see what they can. Thankfully, I have been blessed to have had more than one chance.

If you ever find yourself in Rome for a second (or third) time, take the time to go back to the Vatican again and again. You never know what else you might find!

What you can expect to see in each of the museums:

• Pio-Clementino Museum: Created by popes Clement XIV and Pius VI, this museum holds the most important Greek works in the Vatican.
• Apartment of Pius V: The work of Pope Pius V, this museum contains Flemish tapestries from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, a collection of medieval ceramics and another of medieval miniature mosaics.
• Gallery of the Chandeliers: Roman replicas of Greek originals and enormous chandeliers from the second century A.D. decorate this elegant gallery.
• Ethnological Missionary Museum: This museum contains works of art from all the papal missions of the world, among which there are objects originating from Tibet, Indonesia, India, the Far East, Africa and America.
• Gallery of Maps: Carried out between the years 1580 and 1585, the beautiful maps painted in fresco on the walls of this gallery represent the Italian regions and the possessions of the Church.
• Historical Museum – Carriage Pavilion: In this section you will find coaches, saddles, cars, and Vatican City’s first locomotive.
• Gallery of Tapestries: Exhibition of Flemish tapestries created between 1523 and 1534.
• Pio-Christian Museum: The collection of Christian antiquities is composed of statues, sarcophagi and archaeological ruins from the sixth century.
• Pinacoteca: The eighteen rooms in the Pinacoteca building contain pictorial works dating from the Middle Ages until 1800.
• Sobieski Room and the Room of the Immaculate: In both rooms you will find paintings originating in the Italian “Ottocento”.
• Egyptian Museum: Among other pieces acquired by the popes you can find some impressive Egyptian sculptures, besides the prized sarcophagi from the third century B.C. There are also some black basalt statues originating from the Villa Adriana, which are replicas of Egyptian models.
• Etruscan museum: This part of the museum contains elements of ceramic, bronze and gold belonging to the Etruscan civilization.
• Chiaramonti Museum: Created thanks to Pius VII Chiaramonti, this gallery holds thousands of sculptures including portraits of emperors, images of the gods and some funeral monuments.
• Gregorian Profane Museum: Greek and Roman sculptures are exhibited here from the first to third centuries A.D.
• Borgia Apartment: The apartments that belonged to the Pope Alexander VI Borgia today serve as exhibition rooms for the Collection of Modern Religious Art.
• Raphael Rooms: Rafael and his assistants decorated the apartments of the Pope Julius II.
• Sala Della Biga: Holding court in this space is a monumental marble figure of a chariot drawn by two horses carried out in the first century A.D.

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Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel

• Vatican Official Website http://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en.html
• Sistine Chapel
• http://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/it/collezioni/musei/cappella-sistina/storia-cappella-sistina.html
• Address: 00120 Vatican City
• Hours: Monday-Saturday, 0900-1800 (final entry, 1600). Every last Sunday of the month, 0900-1400 (final entry, 1230). Closed on Sundays (except the last Sunday of each month), 1 January, 11 February 19 March, 22 April, 1 May, 29 June, 14 and 15 August, 1 November, 25 and 26 December
• Admission: No guide. Adults, 17.00€, Reduced 8.00€, Online booking fee, 4.00€. For audioguide, add additional 7.00€. Prices vary for guided tours, please consult Vatican Official website.
• Getting There: Metro, Line A, Ottaviano stop and then a 10 minute walk. Bus lines 64, 62, 40 and 81 and Hop On/Hop Off buses drop off in Vatican City. Children under 10 travel free on all public transport. By car, the nearest parking facility is the underground five-story park, Terminal Gianicolo, a ten minute walk from Vatican City.

Important to note: Proper dress is required and visitors can be denied access even with a ticket. The following clothing items are not allowed in the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Gardens…mini skirts, shorts above the knee, sleeveless tops, lowcut clothing, hats. The Vatican’s dress code applies to both men and women.

Photos are not allowed in the Sistine Chapel.