St. Peter's Basilica

 ST. PETER'S BASILICA

Fortified with our morning caffeine we boarded the bus for an early start for the Vatican.  The crowds were already assembling at St. Peter's Square, but we beat most of them.  It was surreal to see in person what I had seen throughout my life in pictures, on TV, and in movies. The scale and magnitude of St. Peter's exude power and majesty ... which I guess is the point. 


But the artistry of the architecture is breathtaking. It seems impossible not to be awestruck by the many nearly 20' tall statues, which were created in the early 1600's, gazing down on the Square. 




Then when you walk in and turn right, wade through the throng, you walk right up to Michelangelo's Pieta. Wow! From there the immensity of the Basilica, which is filled with sculptures, paintings, ornate ceilings, and the baldachin (a bronze canopy designed by Bernini in 1623) over the spot which St. Peter's Tomb lies beneath just leave one slack-jawed. 













As we left, we passed the Swiss Guards in their uniforms, which reminded me of Beulah Hubbard High School's basketball uniforms of the early 60's. 





Then we saw a couple of surprising things:  First, after crossing to the far side of St. Peter's Square and looked back toward the Basilica, we saw 2 policemen on horseback. It reminded me of New Orleans at Mardi Gras. Secondly, we heard a loud rumble, looked up, and there were hundreds of motorcyclists headed up the street into the Square.  We were told that they were all driving some particular brand of Italian cycle and that periodically owners of the various brands show up there to be blessed.





The visit to the Basilica was physically and emotionally taxing.  We began our recovery by shopping in the stores in the Vatican.  [Spoiler alert:  Don't expect any bargains! No Dollar General or AARP discounts.] We then boarded our bus and headed back to the hotel with lunch plans on our own and a free afternoon.

[Note: Since today was a jam-packed day with visits to many of the most historic sites in the Eternal City, I am sharing lots of photos of them. So today's post doesn't rival War and Peace I'm breaking its itinerary into three separate posts.  This is the first.]


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