Day 4 in Vatican City (our morning adventure)

I have studied art from Italy since I first began an interest in art history.  I knew that going to the Vatican would be fascinating in more ways than one, but the art was my number one motivation.  I took tons of photos, but obviously won't post all of them on the blog.

Up bright and early to head back to Rome

Here is the wall surrounding the Vatican

The entrance to the Vatican Museum

Before getting to the Sistine Chapel, you get a view of these gardens and other wonderful details

The bronze earth turns and is a mechanical version of our planet.  Very cool. 

There were myriads of hallways and rooms boldly decorated with gold, marble, statues, tapestries, and the like.  If you notice the ceiling in most parts of the Vatican, they are not 3-D, but painted with extreme shaded realism.

The apartments of the popes

Michelangelo's Pieta is one of my favorite sculptures I studied throughout learning about the Renaissance, in depth, in grad school.  To see it in person was quite a treat.  

This is a bronze statue of St. Peter.  It is said to bring good luck if you rub his feet.

St. Peter's Baldachin is a giant bronze canopy that shelters the tomb of St. Peter (which is located downstairs underneath).  It was sculpted by Bernini, who never ceases to fascinate me with his intricate work.

The Vatican loves their domes

One of the most interesting things about Rome is the amount of Egyptian obelisks there are scattered throughout.  The story of how and why they are important is long, so research it if you want more info (sorry trying to push on to get as much of the trip down as I can before starting another!)

The rest of our day continued on to the Colosseum and The Roman Forum.