Vatican Museum Ceilings - Rome, Italy

The Vatican Museum is definitely a 'must see' when you visit Rome. It is literally a treasure throve of riches. Artwork adorns every wall, ceiling and yes, even the floor. Every nook and cranny has an artwork on it. I took hundreds of photos while inside the museum and I wish I could've taken more. That's how beautiful it is. Picture taking is allowed in all rooms except one, the Sistine Chapel. Too bad, this is the most breathtaking of the entire museum. It is where you can see Michaelangelo's 'The Last Judgement'. The next time we visit Rome (yes, we plan to go back - it is THAT beautiful) we will definitely go to see the Vatican Museum again. I suggest that you plan your visit in the afternoon to avoid the lines that could sometimes stretch for miles in the morning.

I am featuring some of the photos I took of the Vatican museum ceilings. The photo above looks like it is 'bas relief' but is actually just a flat painted ceiling. Amazing, isn't it? There are a lot of paintings like these in the museum.

The Map Room Ceiling, my favorite. It is lighted up so beautifully. The walls in this room is full of huge map paintings, thus the name of the room.

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Vatican Museum - I

The Vatican Museum is a treasure throve of magnificent artwork. I remember that I kept saying 'WOW' at almost every room. It is just amazing and I highly recommend going if you are visiting Rome. One can easily spend the whole day in the museum and I'm sure that even is not enough to scratch the surface. It is best to be with a tour guide to give you the basic information on each room. At the end of the tour, you can go back to any part of the museum and take your time. Photography is allowed in all rooms but one. They do not allow photography in the Sistine Chapel which is too bad. The copyright is owned by the Japanese company that financed the restoration of the chapel. Was I tempted to take a photo? Of course, but my 'good girl' side prevailed or should I say the angel on my shoulder did. :)

This post is just one of many that I will write that will show some of the artwork in the Vatican Museum. I think I took tons of photos that day and wished I could've taken more. These photos show the ceiling in the Map Room which is my favorite. If ever I get the chance to go back to Rome, I would definitely visit the Vatican museum again and again and again...

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Buon Giorno from Florence, Italy!

Hello! We are here in Florence now. Rome was beautiful! Well, actually, I'm talking about the sights and museums, not the street sights. For the ugly part, there were parts of Rome that we saw graffiti everywhere. It was during the ride from the airport to the hotel. The good part is that the historic sites and museums did not disappoint! I have to warn you though, I used a lot of adjectives in this post: amazing, beautiful, etc. LOL There are just no words to describe the beauty of what we saw. :)

We saw the Pope in his Wednesday Papal Audience. There were a lot of people from different parts of the world. I saw the pope's cap, buti na lang may big screen kaya nakita ko rin kung ano itsura nya. We got there at around 9:30AM and the Pope came in his PopeMobile around 10:00AM. You will know it since people started making noise and standing up on chairs. The whole thing lasted 2 hours since they acknowledged all the pilgrims from different parts of the world. Then at the end was the Papal Blessing. I had with me some Rosaries I bought from the day before in the Vatican Museum so that was blessed by the Pope.

St. Peter's Basilica was amazing, it is so HUGE and all the artworks and sculptures, left me speechless. The Pieta was breathtaking, too bad it was behind a glass so it is about 10-15 feet away. After seeing St. Peter's, all the other churches we saw just couldn't compare. That's how beautiful it is. I also noticed that in the more popular churches amongst the tourists like St. Peter's and the Duomo in Florence, they took out almost all of the pews. I was a little disappointed but I guess with the number of tourists that visit each day, it's a wise move.

We also went to the Vatican museum. The art collection of the Popes and also the designs of their private quarters are very lavish! That's one of the reasons why Martin Luther converted, after seeing it, I don't blame him, I might convert too! LOL We saw the Emperor Nero's bath tub, as you can see in the photo, it is HUGE! You can easily fit more than ten people in there. My favorite room is the Map Room, the ceiling is amazing!

My other favorite place was the Trevi Fountain. We went there at night and while walking closer I can hear the water flowing, we turned a corner and there it is. Beautiful! Amazing is all I can say. We stayed there for an hour just admiring the sculptures made by Salvi. I could go on and on but I don't want to bore you, if you're still reading this. :)

Anyway, we are spending three days here in Florence and will head off to Venice next. We will be seeing Michaelangelo's David and the painting 'Birth of Venus' by Boticelli. I'm excited to see it because I studied it in college. I'm overloaded with history and art that every artwork starts looking the same to me. LOL

Food is great too, I've never eaten so much pasta in my entire life. Good thing that we burn it off with all the walking we've done. Actually yesterday for lunch we had Chinese food just to break the monotony. :)

I could go on and on about everything I've seen but I don't want to bore you with details. I am enjoying this trip, can't you tell? LOL

Well, that's it for now. I don't know when I will be able to update again. I'm having problems with my laptop's charger or battery. The nice thing about this hotel in Florence we're staying at is they have a laptop and free internet access in every room. I will have to write about the hotels we've stayed in. If ever you will be visiting these cities, I highly recommend them.

I hope everyone is in great health. :)

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