Youngs Around the World

From Rome to Venice, with many great stops in between, we are joined with my beautiful sister, Natalie. Aaron and I arrived in Rome on the midmorning train from Naples and Natty’s flight landed in the early afternoon. She fared the jetlag splendidly and the three of us set out on a walk in search of food and drink. We found the Colosseum instead. We turned the corner and there it was – Rome’s most recognizable monument. Naturally, we gravitated toward it with scenes of gladiatorial combat racing through our minds. We decided not to go inside it just yet but rather sat at one of the outdoor cafes beside it and toasted a celebratory round of overpriced beers. It was a great start to our Italian adventures.

The next morning began with a bit of business – our second attempt at obtaining Russian visas. We were denied once already in Barcelona and I was pessimistic about our chances this time and perturbed that we were wasting our first precious morning hours in Rome on the stupid Russians. Natty was a great sport throughout her little taste of the Amazing Race and, by lunchtime, we were headed to the Vatican.

I have always dreamed of seeing the Sistine Chapel. If you’d asked me before this trip to name the ten things that I most wanted to see, Michelangelo’s famous ceiling would have been high on the list. As we walked briskly from the Ottaviano metro stop, through forays of young students hoping to sell us an English tour, I could hardly contain my excitement. Memories of The Agony and the Ecstasy, The Da Vinci Code, and of an inspiring humanities class from my sophomore year at Arizona vied for position in the foreground of my mind. I had read about the Vatican’s vast treasury of priceless works of art but I was not mentally prepared for a collection that rivals the Louvre. My jaw dropped to the floor and I dragged it along for the next three hours.

Inside the Pinacoteca, paintings by Raphael, Caravaggio and Da Vinci among others graced the walls. Other galleries contained hundreds of marble busts and statues, enormous tapestries, Etruscan artifacts, and stunning iconography. The Map Gallery was a long hall containing world maps painted in foregone centuries, enlightening the viewer as to the perception of the world long before satellites and Columbus. The private apartments of Pope Julius II were, like the whole of the Vatican Museum, remarkably opulent; every wall, ceiling, and corner of the various salons were richly decorated with religious frescoes, framed paintings, decadent mouldings, and magnificent sculptures. The experience was mindboggling and we hadn’t even made it to the Sistine Chapel yet!

The museum tour is organized such that the Sistine Chapel is the last thing you see for you cannot re-enter the other galleries from there. It is an impressively efficient system of herding the thousands of daily visitors through the various corridors and galleries. It also builds overwhelming suspense in the viewers’ mind, which the climax of the visit – the Sistine Chapel – answers with vigor.

After hours of wandering the seemingly endless galleries, you are a little weary; your senses are overloaded and you’re not sure if you’re mentally ready for the climax…and then you step inside a large rectangular room full of people, their necks craned as if they are gazing into the Heavens. And then you look up.

No matter what you have previously read or heard or thought, the Sistine Chapel can bring tears to your eyes. Though Michelangelo always considered himself a sculptor and only begrudgingly accepted the papal commission for the ceiling, he poured himself into the work. Declining any assistance, he spent four years (1508-1512) lying on scaffolding, creating what would become one of the world’s most glorious and famous masterpieces.

The ceiling is divided into several sections with nine scenes from the book of Genesis depicted through the center, including the most recognized Creation of Adam. Despite the jostling crowd, every spot is a good one and, when your neck starts to ache from looking up, your gaze can comfortably rest on Michelangelo’s other great work, The Last Judgment, painted on the alter wall almost twenty years after the ceiling was completed. Many believe it to be superior to even his own ceiling frescoes. I was so moved by both works that I found it impossible to compare them. Michelangelo was clearly a conductor of God’s own hand.

While the security personnel tirelessly hushed the crowd to preserve the sanctity of the atmosphere, the shoulder-to-shoulder crush still detracted from the experience. I wondered if the Pope ever comes in at night, when the doors are locked and he has the place to himself, and lies on his back on the floor, staring up at the ceiling in solitude. I certainly would.

After the Sistine Chapel – and at this point I was naturally thinking, What could possibly follow the Sistine Chapel that would not pale in comparison? – we followed the Vatican walls around to St. Peter’s Square. Designed by Bernini in the 17th century, the roundish piazza was conceived as a place for Christians to gather. Today, it serves as an outdoor foyer to St. Peter’s Basilica. After the Crucifixion of Christ, St. Peter came to pagan Rome to spread Christianity. At that time, Christians were being persecuted by the anti-Christian emperor Nero and Peter fled from Rome. On his way out of town, he had a vision of Christ carrying a cross toward Rome. When Peter asked Christ what he was doing, Christ told Peter that he was going to Rome to be crucified again. Peter returned to Rome and was immediately imprisoned. He was crucified upside down. The original basilica was built by Rome’s first Christian emperor, Constantine, in the 4th century on the site where St. Peter was martyred. In the years since, the basilica has been touched by the artistic hands of Bramante, Bernini, and Michelangelo among others.

The white marble façade of the world’s second largest basilica, decorated with Roman columns and topped with sculptures, is striking but is a vast understatement in comparison to the majestic grandeur of the interior. Among the magnificent marble sculptures on display is Michelangelo’s Pieta. Bathed in soft light, the work exemplifies the artist’s ability to capture movement with the musculature of Christ’s lifeless body and the flowing folds of the Madonna’s robes. Lifelike marble statues by Bernini also decorate the cavernous interior. In the center of the basilica stands the high altar with a magnificent bronze work by Bernini, which stands above St. Peter’s crypt. Above the high altar, Michelangelo’s dome filters daylight through a line of windows below a kaleidoscope of iconography.

As we toured the basilica a service was taking place. The musical voice of a young priest filled the interior with a soft Latin chant. As I walked, awestruck by the beautiful works of art and warmed by the music, my thoughts drifted to my grandparents. All four of them were so humbly pious and, in my adult years, I have drawn much inspiration from their example. In particular, I thought of my sweet Yiayia who would have wept in the presence of such beautiful glory had she ever had the pleasure of seeing it. Thoughts of her filled my heart and, convinced that I was seeing all of this through her eyes, the tears began to fall. In my heart, I dedicate this day to my sweet angel, Bessie Mihal – Daughter of Penelope, lover of pink roses, spoiler of grandchildren, angel of God – who is and will always be with me.

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