Last week I had the pleasure of traveling to Rome. It was an exciting trip, with many wonders to see, and even a once-in-a-lifetime experience where. . . well, you'll see.
We left the school at six in the morning. After some time on the road, we stopped for breakfast and coffee at an Autogrill, and I went up to the counter to order a caffe nocciola. "Ticket?" the lady asked. Bewildered, she continued, "You pay first." I heard her mutter, "American," behind my back with that patronizing chuckle I try to avoid hearing. This irritated me, but the coffee was good and put me in a good mood for the day.
As soon as we arrived in Rome, we made our way to the church where Michelangelo's Moses is held at the tomb of Pope Julius II. It is truly an incredible work; I love the way his beard, hair, and clothes flow together. It's amusing, too, how much he does resemble Charlton Heston. The relic of that church was odd, too--the supposed shackles of Paul and Silas the night the angel freed them. There was also aan entertainingly creepy sculpture of a skeletal angel of death there.
From there, we went to see the Coliseum, Rome's most recognizable monuement. It's massive, a perfect oval, with rooms exposed from what would have been beneath the floor for the animals used in gladiator battles. A cross recognizes the deaths of Christians there. Next to it is Constantine's Arch, which is absolutely gigantic. I'm guessing whoever did the Arc du Triomphe in Paris had a good look at it during the design process.
We ate lunch in the shade of the trees next to the Parthenon, then explored its ruins. After spending last summer in Athens, these didn't impress me so much, but it was fascinating to think that at one point, this was the center of the mighty and massive Roman Empire. Some say that empire never ended.
The Vatican City is built like a fortress. As we entered security, I was told to leave my backpack at the concierge. I mention this now because. . . well, you'll see.
Shuffling through the enormous halls of the Musei Vaticani is an experience beyond what even my vocabulary has available to write about. I have seen many large buildings, many overdecorated Baroque buildings, but nothing like this, nothing this impressive. To get to the Sistine Chapel, I walked past many wonders, such as the controversial statue Michelangelo is said to have sculpted, then sold as an antiquity. I was impressed by the Raphael fresco, the School of Athens. I never knew it was so large. The Sistine Chapel is worthy of all the praise it has received. I spent an hour sketching one of the larger sibyls, Libica, which caused me to appreciate the effort Michelangelo must have gone to in order to finish before the wet fresco dried.
Coming out of there, I took a wrong turn and wound up in the crypt, where a number of popes are buried. I paid my respects to the most recently deceased pope, John Paul II, who had a number of lovely metallic roses over his tomb. I also peered into the supposed tomb of St. Peter, which was highly decorated. I could sense the importance of these tombs to the Catholic religion, even though I do not share their faith, but nothing could prepare me for the interior of St. Peter's Basilica.
Not only are its dimensions unfathomable, but designed with the sorts of proportions that make the observer, no matter how brave, shake with the impression of their own insignificance. The space is very high, lit almost solely from the lantern of Michaelangelo's dome, which casts large, harsh shafts of light all over the church. Even Michelangelo's lovely, more human-looking Pieta shrinks into the background in the mere contemplation of the building's striking features. I listened to the end of mass, sung in mens' voices, and walked the length of it. I passed pilgrims, priests (some of them putting away their vestments from performing mass), and penitents confessing their sins. My emotions were mixed. I couldn't bear to stay and I couldn't rip myself away from it.
My friends gently took me outside, to the massive yet slightly more friendly-looking piazza designed by Bernini. It suddenly struck me, as I was admiring the orange and blue uniform of a Swiss guard, that I still did not have my backpack. I ran, panicked, all the way around the outside of the Vatican City wall, back to the entrance of the museums, just to find it all shut up tightly. I walked back, weeping and sick and tired of losing things. One of the teachers comforted me and agreed to help me pick it up in the morning. In the hotel that night, I sketched a still life of all of my earthly possessions at the time, and the mere fact that they all fit in one page was depressing.
In the morning, a solid breakfast put me back into a good mood as we started on the walking tour. We saw so many things, starting with the Italian eternal flame in the piazza which also contains the former Venetian embassy, and the building with the balcony from which Mussolini gave his speeches. From there, we saw Bernini's famous Four Rivers fountain and the church next to it, the Agony of St. Agnes (it contains her shrunken head). The Pantheon, which we saw next, was very impressive, perfectly preserved from 116 AD with its missing keystone in the middle. This allowed for a shaft of light to illuminate one of the walls, opposite from Raphael's tomb.
We went on to the Trevanni Fountain, where it is said that if you toss a coin in, you will have good luck and return to Rome in your lifetime. I did this, and it made me optimistic in going to the Vatican to pick up my backpack from the Vatican.
First, we tried the museum entrance, where I'd left it. They sent us over to the other end of the Vatican City, from which they sent us to what could best be described as the back door of the Vatican. There, the Swiss guards, after eyeing our appearance to make sure our intentions were good (I could see them linger at my cross; it's good camouflage in situations like this), let us through.
Inside, we were trying to find the office that had been indicated, and saying to each other, "You know, Obama's supposed to be meeting with the Pope today." We turned a corner and saw a line of Swiss guards standing in front of one of the doors to the Vatican, the red feathers in their hats fluttering in the wind. Behind them, in front of us, there was a polished limo running and waiting, boasting both the Italian and Papal flags. Even if that wasn't for the Pope or Obama, without a doubt, it was cool to see. I got my backpack restored to me, but the cool things were just beginning.
After a good piece of pizza and some excellent iced coffee, we met the group at the Spanish steps, then made our way to the Villa Borghese. Our reservation was pushed back by an hour, so we relaxed outside for a bit, listening to the jazz music of a street musician. One of our students drew him, then exchanged the drawing for his CD. Inside the Villa Borghese, were the two Bernini sculptures I'd always wanted to see, Apollo and Dafne (which shows her in the process of turning into a tree) and Hades and Demeter. I drew, in this one, the way the hands press into her flesh as though it were real.
On our way out was the really cool stuff. We passed convoys of diplomatic cars on our way out of the city, returning to Rome from the G8 Conference. After watching that at length, we heard the sound of a helicopter, looked behing, and--three US military helicopters, headed to from the Vatican to one of the smaller, older airports. Undoubtedly, one of these was carrying Obama, for no one would secure such a small airport with so many lines of police for anyone less.
In short, it was an amazing trip, in many ways, with once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Tomorrow, to Siena, and Thursday, to Venice. I wish everyone such good fortune, no matter what adversity it appears at first. Keep praying for my lost luggage in Spain! I love you all, very much, and am looking forward to seeing some of you in so little time.
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