Vaaattticannnn....Museums

It was a bit chilly on Saturday, so Amanda and I decided to be tourists again this weekend and finally check out the Vatican Museums. I'm still amazed that I've lived so close to the Vatican for over two months now and had no real grasp of how much is truly behind those walls we pass so often...

There's a whole bunch of galleries in the museum (or should I say, museums)...but we started off in the exhibit that displayed sarcophogi and fragments. These sarcophogi were sculpted to depict various Biblical scenes...it was absolutely amazing to see them all and how the styles changed over the years. This sign was one of the first we saw in this section of the museum - um, a bit ironic, maybe? :)


When we realized how extensive the museum was, we figured we would head to the Sistine Chapel next, and then check out other displays based on how much time we had left after that. Little did we know that they funnel you through every other display just to get to the Chapel...oh well. It was kinda neat to see some of the other art along the way, but with so many tourists it was a little tough to fully enjoy it.

(ps - That's a massive tapestry!!!)
Frescoes in the Raphael rooms...the walls and ceilings were absolutely covered!

The Sistine Chapel was amazing, but it really wasn't what I was expecting. With all the emphasis placed on The Creation of Adam, I expected that to be the main focus of the ceiling, and even the room, but I found myself actually looking for that famous painting. It was definitely worth it though...the rest of the paintings are just as amazing though. (Bit of caution though...a headache will most likely follow from staring at a ceiling for 20 minutes, haha.)

Who knew all the crazy treasures hiding behind the massive walls near our apartment? Definitely a great day at the Museums!

Ciao for now!