The Highlights of Rome ~ Day 5

 Our cruise ship docked at the port town of Civitavecchia where we boarded a tour bus for the Ultimate Tour of Rome and Vatican City with two very capable tour guides or chaperones for a bus load of adults who don't always pay attention or follow instructions. The first part of the tour was a walking tour on the cobbled, crowded streets of Rome to see some of the iconic landmarks. Our walking tour hostess knew her history and kept us moving with her brown scarf tied to an umbrella. Most of the sights I had seen on the 2000 visit. I just wasn't as sore and tired then after the walking tour as I was this time.

These are my squirrel moments from the walking tour. 

Christmas garland around a door arch. Also note the width of the sidewalk marked by the white line. The sidewalk and road were on the same level.

angel sculptures are a theme in Rome

door decorations

lion sculptures are another theme

roasting chestnuts, a sure sign of winter and the holiday season in Europe

the waterless Trevi Fountain

Our tour guide explained the Pope has declared 2025 as a Jubilee Year, so the city has begun to 'spruce-up' some of its landmarks and artworks in preparation for the 45,000 expected visitors. So the Trevi Fountain has been drained, all the coins have been collected and workers were cleaning the base of the fountain and the sculptures.

Finally a stop for a snack or lunch if you can eat it in 15 minutes or less and a bathroom break, if you purchased food and could show your receipt with the code to unlock the restroom door. I think we boarded the bus before 8AM. It was a coffee-less morning and very little water. But the gelato was yummy!

Then onto the Vatican Museum and St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the main stop on the tour.

entrance to the Vatican Museum

note the typical ornate arch embellishment

the dome of St. Peter's 

Tour group size within Vatican City was limited to 20 people. Our group was led by a short in stature local art historian woman carrying a travel-sized, unopened red umbrella. You get the idea. She never held the umbrella above her head, but BOY! did she KNOW and LOVE her Vatican stuff. She also knew when one in our group was lagging behind or MIA.

With millions of art work and artifacts the tour is overwhelming and means very little unless you, too, are a knowledgable lover of art history. We saw only a fraction of the museum on our tour which had to keep moving. (There were guards to make certain the groups moved along.) I chose just one photo of the many I did take. It is of a ceiling in a very long hall where every inch of the ceiling and walls are covered in art.

We did get into the Sistine Chapel, but no photos are allowed. It was just as amazing and awe-inspiring this time as it was in 2000. 

a view of the plaza while standing on the steps of St. Peter's Basilica

one set of doors to enter St. Peters

the bronze altar in the Basilica

the top of the altar

St. Peter's tomb at the altar

Again, there is so much to see and share about the art work in the Basilica, but I won't. Instead because our red umbrella carrying tour art historian shared so much about Michelangelo, I am going to share some of what I learned on that tour with her and with my research to back-up what I don't remember.

*Michelangelo was born in Florence Italy in 1475

*His father owned a marble quarry

*At age 14 Michelangelo was a paid apprentice in fresco painting

*At age 24 he carved Pietá (Virgin Mary grieving over Christ held in her arms). The world famous statue is in the Basilica but was not open to the public due to "renovation for the 2025 Jubilee"

*He completed the statue of David when he was 25 yers old

*At age 33 he was commissioned to paint the Sistine Chapel. He considered himself a sculptor but after insistence from the Pope, he accepted the commission. He painted the chapel in 4 years (fresco painting), painting 16-18 hours a day, standing on scaffolding (not lying on his back)

*In 1546 he became one of the architects for St. Peter's Basilica. According to our tour guide he climbed onto the dome of the basilica to check the workmanship when he was in his 70s

*Michelangelo was also a poet

*He died at the age of 88 in Rome 

What an amazing artist! More info can be found about his life and life style with just a google click.

our geocaching photo for the Vatican

Woo Hoo! Another country #21 for geocaching!

one of the Swiss guards at Vatican City

We had maybe an hour after our guided tour for geocaching, lunch, and shopping, in that order. This may have been my favorite pizza in Italy. 

Our tour did make a quick stop at the coliseum on our way out of the city. This photo was taken at 4:26 PM. We did not see any people (or cats) milling around or touring the landmark and were assured it was open to visitors.

In the center of this photo is the arch and walkway where the dignitaries entered the coliseum.

This photo was taken at 4:38 PM as the setting sun was reflecting off the interior walls of the structure. 

It was a long 10 hour day with an over-load of information and some of the most iconic landmarks in Italy. It was wonderful and I am so fortunate to have seen it all a second time.