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October 18, 2004
Chillin' with El Papa at the Vatican
ROMA, ITALIA: I'm going to make a bit of an effort to blog the current trip from Rome to Istanbul, as I have the laptop with me this time. (See below for details.) I've spent the last two days in Rome, capital of the greatest empire in history and the world's largest organized religion (though technically this religion has its own country, surrounded by Rome). Quite honestly, I don't really like Rome. There are some horrible annoyances here, like inconvenient transfers to the far-off Leonardo da Vinci airport, steep fees to entrance monuments, a nearly non-existant subway sustem, surly cashiers, street hawkers, extraordinarily expensive accomodation, Woodstock II prices for beverages, and masses of idiotic Rick James-toting tourists.
The Vatican makes up for Rome's annoyances. Indeed, today is the first time I've ever stood in a line that started in one country and ended in another country. Specifically, it was a four-block-long line to get into the Vatican museum, home of such masterpieces as the Sistine Chapel ceiling and Raphael's School of Athens. The Sistine Chapel was a bit disappointing--filled with people talking loudly (echoing) and taking flash-photographs, which destroy the delicate paint and don't result in a better photo. One guard finally started kicking people out and swatting down cameras, resulting in a shouting match with one patron. F#&@ing touists.
In Belgium, everyone asked why I went north to places like Norway and the Baltics, and not to Italy. I can see how Italy may be charming, but Rome is not, despite the efforts of a minority of Romans who are really swell people. Then again, everyone said, "oh, you must go to Italy," not "you must go to Rome".
A few pictures. Again, I'm writing this in native HTML, so forgive the lack of thumbnails:
- Citta del Vaticano: San Peitro's. The Pope greets the Sunday audience assembled in St. Peter's Square in at the Vatican. The Pope is in his apartment's window in the building in the far left center of the picture. It is quite a change from the humble apartment he lived in as a student at Jagellonian University in Krakow (pictures of this coming eventually).
- Citta del Vaticano: Vatican Museum. Something I didn't expect to see in the Vatican. On second thought, I think it was done on purpose. It describes a painting that shows Renaissance astronomers, more than a few of whom the Church burned alive.
- Italia: Roma. Emporer Adrian's family masoleum. Adrian (known variously as Hadrian or Adriano) built the San Angelo palace/fort as his and his family's final resting place, but its location near the Vatican led to its being converted into a fort, which was then linked by tunnel to the Vatican for popes to flee to its safety. This tunnel was quite a life-saver in 1545(?), when the Hapsburgs sacked Rome. Also, the bridge in front collapsed in 1450, killing over 300. I treaded lightly.
Posted by adrianjo at October 18, 2004 12:29 PM
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