We are staying blocks away from the Pope, so it seemed logical to kick off our tour of Rome with the Vatican. To see so many of the legendary works of art that I've studied over and over in years of art history classes in their full glory was truly a dream come true. The quantity and quality of art the Vatican houses is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!!! Never have I seen so much beauty under one roof, well... there are a few roofs in the Vatican!
We opted to take a 3-hour guided tour and there surely were no regrets there. Our guide, Nicoletta, drenched us in history and interesting facts gathered from her 38 years of being a Vatican tour guide. I was so captivated with every minute that my heart sank a little when she announced the tour was over. The kids let out a polite, slouching sigh of relief, but I could have carried on another two hours (after a 5-minute backstretch and snack break!). A one or two-hour tour probably would have been sufficient for the kiddos, but they have a mom with a fine art and art history degree... sorry, kids!
The Sistine Chapel is known as the crown jewel, but the vast collection of graceful Greek sculptures and larger-than-life paintings in the Vatican Museums stole the show. The Gallery of Geographic Maps was a family favorite and the sight of its stunning gold ceiling will stop you in your tracks! The gallery, stretching as long as a football field, is lined with forty maps of every Italian region from north to south. Though hand painted 500 years ago without aerial mapping, they are accurate in topography and proportion. How did they do that?!?
Many times throughout the tour, our group of six had whole rooms to ourselves. Nicoletta said approximately 33,000 visitors shuffle shoulder to shoulder through the long corridors and rooms each day—unbelievable! She did say that pre-COVID January and February crowds mirror the number of visitors we saw during our tour (guessing about 2000).
Art restoration crews have been busy cleaning the exterior of the Vatican, frescos and oil paintings during the COVID lockdown. A few rooms had just opened in the last couple of weeks, just in time for us to see the rebirth of their original vibrant hues. The pros and cons of conservation-restoration is always under continuous debate.
The left side of the Vatican exterior has been recently restorated and the right side has not.
FUN FACT: Michelangelo's frescos in the Sistene Chapel have only been cleaned one time beginning in 1980, taking fourteen years to complete.
Touring the breathtaking Vatican Museums and the Sistene Chapel is an experience we will never forget.
