We woke up at the Pantheon hotel after a well deserved rest and set out for a day of sightseeing. We had a tour of the Vatican and Sistine Chapel booked and strolled over admiring the river and the amazing architecture on our way over. We stopped at a small cafe and had a pleasant lunch and made our way to the tour. Our tour consisted of the Vatican museums, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica etc. The artwork was amazing including the famous last judgement by Michelangelo, numerous famous works by Raphael, Leonardo DaVinci and many more. The sculptures were spectacular and seemed to be never ending with room after room filled with countless amazing works. The paintings and murals were just as spectacular and after an hour it became quite overwhelming and inspiring. The architecture inside was also just as spectacular with elaborate and ornate carvings and fresco painting on every surface. The Sistine Chapel was the culmination of the tour and it was just as amazing as the rest. The entire tour was quite fascinating despite the heavy crowds. The tour guide and the fact that we had headphones minimized this to an extent and it was still well worth it. We ended our touring by strolling through the massive structure of St. Peter’s Basilica which I believe is the biggest church in the world. It seemed like a small town inside with ceilings around 450 feet high in the dome itself and a capacity of 60,000 people. It was truly massive and again adorned with spectacular painting, sculpture and architecture. We made a trip through the papal tombs on our way out and headed back to the hotel. For dinner we found a small, romantic trattoria on the internet and had a phenomenal dinner and ended our 2nd day in rome.
Day 15 (June 22): Rome, Italy
- Post author:Kory
- Post published:June 22, 2010
- Post category:Europe 2010