03 Feb Rome: The Last Judgement (Day 8)

This post as compared to the previous one, I’ve spared readers with all our faces and concentrate on all the historic buildings etc.

Rome being the oldest city in Italy, I guess with the history of much violence, slavery and hardship somewhat shaped the city to be very dark. Looking at many of the statues, during those medieval times, men had to fight for survival or fame and status and it’s sad i think. Because according to our tour guide from “Dark Rome” ironically, even a number of popes fall for greed and turn to corruption. Those times were some kind of a drama man.

On our last day in Rome, we spent half a day just walking about Vatican City, visited the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica church.

Interestingly, we were  given earphones and a gadget while we explore around. Which made sense because the place is so huge and it was so crowded, you wouldn’t be able to hear shit.

This globe looking sculpture known as Sphere within sphere is the work of Arnaldo Pomodoro. The meaning of it if I remember it correctly was said to depict the birth of a new world. 

Within the courtyard, there were quite a number of bathtubs. So I’ve concluded that they will not understand how shiok it is to have shower heads and warm running water hitting down your back. 

It should be quite creepy at night in Vatican since there were so many statues and paintings.

The first statue on the left is Hercules. I think the guide did mention about why he doesn’t wear clothes but I forgot what was the reason.  Thankfully got google haha. Sharing this interesting find:

Hercules smiled and said, ‘A person who loves himself does not wear tattered clothes because he doesn’t want people to laugh at him. Likewise, check if your thoughts are tattered. If you truly love yourself, you will not harbor tattered thoughts, i.e. thoughts that cause you suffering. You don’t have to take love – you have to give it, because you have a never-ending, unlimited source of love inside you. What will you do with so much love? Just keep sharing it throughout your life!’

source via Warrior’s Mirror, The: The Path To Peace

The guide also said this bowl hor.. is a very expensive bowl. Because it’s built by 1 big slab of marble. Emperor Nero Caesar’s food bowl when they party. #wtf.

The Goddess of fertility. Quite obvious.. ahem.

Purely painting with shadow techniques. So so real like it’s 3D. Hard to prove it because this is up on the ceiling, I cannot touch. 

The Gallery of maps

The Vatican Museum

Mother Mary

Vatican City is just unreal. Housing all the paintings by Michelangelo. 9 years of work in this vicinity #wtf. This trip to Europe really open up my eyes to many amazing sights. How amazing is Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo as artists seriously? I cannot image painting upside down. Blood will gush up my brains and I’ll be dizzy already.

Especially the works in the Sistine Chapel. They didn’t allow photo taking and we had to be quiet in there but since it was crowded, the guards had to shssh the crowd at times. so I can only show googled picture. That piece on the wall is the renowned painting, The Last Judgement.

On our way to St. Peter’s Basilica church.

 St. Peter’s Basilica church is wtf too. How do people built such things man. Every detail of a painting, a sculpture or the architecture is built to mind blow. Minimalism is never in their dictionary.

St. Peter’s is regarded as one of the holiest Catholic sites. It has been described as “holding a unique position in the Christian world” and as “the greatest of all churches of Christendom”.

source via wiki

The Alter of St. Peter’s Basilica.

By the time we’re done, it was already in the evening.  So it’s good to keep a full day to visit Rome’s Vatican City.

After a day of hardcore historical education, we had this glass of smoothie coffee which is freaking awesome. The texture is rich like ice cream. 

Thanks to the holidays, I’ve had time to do up Rome blog entries and deal with insomnia. Good luck to me for it is a working day tomorrow. 

Next up… Florence. Till then.