Vatican!

Wow. Today was amazing and completely exhausting, as everyday has been this week. We went to the Vatican, first for a tour of the museums and Sistine Chapel with our Rome CUA contact David. He was fabulous and gave us so much to digest about the artwork. After lunch, we met our guide at the Vatican Archives. Father Choppin is an archivist there. He took us on the most amazing tour. We saw miles and miles of documents. The reading rooms are beautiful, and then he took up us this crazy 6 story spiral staircase to a tower. O.M.G. It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. It has a sundial of sorts on the floor, and a little hole in the wall, and the sunlight lines up at certain angles with the design on the floor. And the frescos, they were all amazing. No pictures, of course, then he showed us a document from 1205. Just pulled it off the shelf and thumbed through it like it was nothing special. Woah. 1205!!!! 800 years old!!

Fr. Choppin at the Archives

 

Then we went to an adjoining building to see the Vatican Library. Also amazing, also great reading rooms, also ancient books. We saw a manuscript in Greek of the bible. I don't even know how old that was. Hand-copied. And on the 4th floor, this room totally abandoned, for the moment, that was covered, COVERED! In frescos. All library pictures. Amazing.

A Reading Room at the Vatican Library

 

Miles and miles of shelves

AND we saw the door that connects this area to the Pope's palace. I did get a picture of that. To think what's on the other side of that door. Just amazing.

the door to the Pope's apartment

Then I window shopped on the way back. Took the metro back to the hotel like a pro. Met friends for dinner at our place, Li Rioni, the pizza place down the street, where they greeted us like old friends. I had pizza napoleta, which is pizza with anchovies! Yummy!! 1/2 liter of wine there is 4€, which is about $5.20. Can't beat that!