A long day touring Catholicism. It all started with Constantine when Christianity became the state religion in Rome. What you were martyred for a hundred years before, now was enforced with equal enthusiasm. The first Basilica was built in the 4th century of which parts were incorporated in the current church. It continued to grow in size and importance until today it is the largest Catholic church and is filled with hundreds of works of art. It and the Vatican Museum are on par with the Hermitage in St. Petersburg and the Louvre in Paris. Rather then bore you with history, here are some views. Its size is overwhelming, no doubt the same feeling felt by the 15th century worshippers when 40,000 would have Mass.
Front to back is the length of two football fields!
The dome was designed by Michelangelo. He died long before it was finished, the dome alone took 100 years to build!
To help with a size perspective: The Altar is 7 stories high, and the letters on the upper wall are 7 feet high.
Michelangelo’s famous Pieta. Now behind bullet proof glass after it was attacked by a crazy man with a hammer. This was his commission after he finished David, he was still in his early thirties!
This sort of sculpture was everywhere! Unbelievable.
After touring through the Vatican Museum, with cameras, we were ushered into the Sistine Chapel( no cameras). Perhaps you have heard the story of Michelangelo’s painting of the ceiling and the subsequent modern rehabilitation. I won’t go into details here, just go to Wikipedia for a quick review. This is where I got this picture of one half of the ceiling, now cleaned so we can see it as Michelangelo intended for it to be seen. Another incredible moment to view what some have said is the “most important work of art created by a human being in all of history”.
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