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23 Oct 04: I was
gently awakened by my wife a little after 14:00, after a nice twelve
hour nap.
I quickly showered, and we walked about a kilometer to the nearest
Metro stop,
the Cornelia station. We first went into a coffee bar for a couple of
shots of
expresso, and I also bought my Metro ticket there - my wife already had
her own pass good for a week of travel. We descended into
the earth via a series of three long escalators, each of which took us
25 meters
lower.
Taking into account an additional two sets of stairs, I estimate that
the train
platform lay at least 100 meters below the surface. We boarded a train
and
traveled just 4 stops to the Cipro/San Pietro stop, emerging to find
ourselves
just a few blocks from St. Peter’s
Basilica and Square. This
monumental edifice constitutes the center of Christendom, especially
that of
the Roman Catholic branch. So much has been said and written about it
that I
have nothing to add save to relate our movements. We began by entering
the
square from the east, under and through a lofty canopy supported by
massive
columns some 25 meters tall. As the square (an oval, actually) opened
up before us, we were greeted by
very light
crowds and proceeded to the fountain in the middle of the square, where
I offered up a prayer sealed with a coin. Continuing right (north) and
around back to the left,
we
passed in front of the Basilica,
where 6-meter tall statues
of Christ
flanked
by the 12 apostles stand atop the façade. Returning
to the right,
we joined a queue, passed through X-ray scanners, and purchased tickets
for a
tour of the signature dome that crowns the Basilica. We also rented
handheld
electronic
audio guides. There are over three hundred steps from the floor of the
Basilica
to the intermediate gallery ringing the base of the dome – we took the
elevator. Exiting
the elevator, we immediately found ourselves on the open, circular
gallery where we could both look up
into the
massive dome and down upon the Basilica floor. The illustrations,
paintings,
mosaics, inlays, etc. were spectacular, and you can read all about them
elsewhere. Our next goal was to ascend the dome to the top of the
cupola at the
very
pinnacle of the Basilica. This is done by climbing a series of steps
that
switch back and forth in the space between the two concentric domes,
designed
by none other than Michelangelo. This innovative architecture
distributes the
weight of the dome onto four massive pillars that form the four corners
of the
Basilica transept far below – an architectural tour de force. I lost
track of the number of steps, but it was in the hundreds, and I was
puffing
mightily by the time we reached the top. The view
was spectacular – one can see all seven of central Rome’s hills from
this
dizzying height. The verdant green of the Vatican gardens far below was
punctuated by flashes of color from flowers, fruit-laden date palms (in
October, no less!), and other chromatically luminous objects. We took
many
photos and spent quite some time up there just admiring the vistas. We
finally
descended the way we had come, taking the stairs back to the dome
gallery, and the elevator the
rest of
the way. We regrouped at the east end of the Basilica, beginning
at the
right (north) aisle, where the Pietá is located. Michelangelo
carved this
sculpture when he was only 23 years old – what else is there to say? We
subsequently viewed various altars,
chapels, domes, paintings, mosaics,
and so forth, until we were chased out by the ushers at closing time,
around
18:00.
Thence, we made our way eastward to the Tiber and strolled northward
along its
banks, passing the Castel
Sant’Angelo before turning back into the city
for a
leisurely two-hour dinner at a ristorante.
This was the least amount of
time we spent at a meal the whole time we were in Rome – no point in
rushing,
hmm? We returned to the Ergife about 22:30, and again my brilliant
strategy of
nap-taking the day of arrival did not stop me from reading late,
although only
until 01:00 this time. Click here to return to the Table of Contents. |
