On Tuesday I once again entered the world's smallest state, to take a tour of the Vatican Museums. I figured a tour was in order to get at the history behind the thousands of objects that the Catholic Church had acquired through the centuries.
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| My dad as a Roman |
We went through galleries of Greek & Roman sculptures and halls of tapestries & frescoes (including a series depicting an entire map of Italy at a reasonable scale). We trod rooms designed for the Borgias and by Raphael and Michelangelo. No pictures allowed in the Sistine Chapel but it was amazing, as expected, and apparently he hadn't even wanted the job.
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| Something for the ladies |
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| Laocoon, priest of Troy |
I finished off the day with a dark Italian craft ale. A little pricey but it cured the ankle I sprained in Venice. The pub crawl and dancing also helped.
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| Magic ale |
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| Plato & Aristotle, by Raphael |
Wednesday was study day ;-). As part of this journey is about doing new things, I'd got in touch with a local artist, Alex Mackenzie, who had agreed to give me several hours tuition with watercolours. I tackled the bridge leading to Castel Sant'Angelo and, although I can tell what I painted, I thought it best to take a photo of it too, just for the sake of comparison! Found the Trevi Fountain by accident too; attractive and drinkable.
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| Serious work |
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| Trevi Fountain, very tasty |
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