Showing posts with label Vatican Museum. Show all posts

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Happy Easter 2012

Easter Greetings

Today marks the most solemn day in the Christian calendar. Unlike Christmas, Easter is a movable feast occurring the first Sunday after the full moon following the vernal equinox. It can therefore occur between March 22 and April 25. We hope that you saw the full moon two nights ago - it was fabulous.

Christians gathered in churches today, across the world, and rejoiced because He is Risen from the Dead. This Good News has been handed down from generation to generation and is based on the scriptures recorded more than 2000 years ago.

Cruising Europe

We have had the good fortune to cruise in Europe on several occasions. Our most recent European cruise was to the Mediterranean and Greek Isles. We began our vacation with a pre-cruise stay in the ancient city of Rome.

One of the highlights while in Rome was our visit to the Vatican.   We began with the Vatican Museum and continued with St. Peter's Basilica.   This image was from one of the murals in the museum.

Throughout Europe one has the opportunity to visit many impressive churches and basilicas.   These structures have withstood the test of time. Many of them were damaged during the World Wars and rebuilt.

This year there are many cruises to chose from ranging from just a few nights to several weeks. You can select from large modern ships which hold thousands of passengers to river cruises with about one hundred passengers. We suggest extending your stay in Europe before your cruise.   This gives you the opportunity to immerse yourself in the history of the region.

Visit our Facebook Fan page for images of Europe.

Friday, June 24, 2011

St. Peter's Basilica - Vatican

Sunday At the Vatican

St. Peter's Basilica Dome

After completing our self-guided tour of the Vatican Museums, we continued our Vatican visit inside St. Peter's Basilica. Just a short walk from the museum exit, you'll walk through columns and archways to the entrance of the Basilica. Stepping inside, don't be surprised if your breath is taken away, as you are filled with awe of what lies before you.

The most important basilica in the Christian world, the St. Peter's Basilica, was built in Rome in honor of Saint Peter, the first Apostle and the first Pope and leader of the Church.

Upon this "rock", I will build my Church

These words, spoken by Jesus Christ, gave Peter, the foundation "stone" (in Italian "Pietra"), authority as the first Pope. After escaping from prison, Peter headed to Rome where he became Bishop and then reigned as Pope for 25 years. He would later be crucified and canonized as a saint. Learn more about St. Peter's Basilica

St. Peter's is an extraordinary museum in it's own right with magnificent marble columns and works of art such as Michelangelo's vast dome and the Pieta, which means "Compassion" in Italian. It is impossible to estimate the value of these priceless works of art.

Bernini's canopy (Baldacchino)

above St. Peter's tomb

Looking through Bernini's canopy, which is above St. Peter's tomb, you can see the alter where we were fortunate to attend holy mass during our visit. Despite being in Italian, we were able to follow the service.   This was truly one of the highlights of our visit to the Vatican.

Unfortunately, we were unable to visit the underground crypts during our visit to St. Peter's Basilica.   We had hoped that following mass, they would have opened the crypt, but that wasn't the case.

These are just a few pictures of the interior of St. Peter's Basilica.   We have many more posted on our Facebook Fan Page:

St. Peter's Vatican Photo Album

St. Peter's Square is also a site to behold - there are more pictures in the album above also.

We continued our Vatican visit with the special exhibit in tribute to the Beatification of John Paul II. This is a free temporary exhibit.

Read more about this in our next blog post:

Special Vatican Exhibit Pope John Paul II

More Photo Albums:

Pope John Paul II Exhibit Photo Album

Vatican Museum Line
Vatican Museum Part 2

Additional photos can be found on our Facebook Albums.

Click on the image to the left for more Blog posts about this trip.

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Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Visiting Vatican Museum

Sunday Morning

At the Vatican

If you are planning to visit the Vatican Museum on Sunday, you'll need to get there early and be prepared to wait. Sunday is free admission to the museums. Doors open at 9 AM. but crowds line up much earlier. We got there around 8:40 AM and finally were inside the museum at 10:30 AM.

While waiting in line be prepared to be approached by guides that suggest that you join their tour for the low price of 25€ per person. They will claim that they have a tour entering the museum right now, or in 15 minutes.

In reality, they have someone in line that they will bring you to, and you'll have to cut in front of people that have been waiting for an hour or more. You won't be making any friends when you do this and you won't be getting a guided tour either.

It can be very warm standing in line, so you might want an umbrella, even if no rain is in the forecast. Bring some water with you, or buy a bottle from a street vendor. Before you know it, you'll be at the front of the line. Once the museum opens, the line does move quickly.

More Photos:

Vatican Museum Line
Vatican Museum Part 2

There are priceless works of art here, collected by the popes or often expressly commissioned by them. More than 70,000 pieces are on exhibition in over 42,000 square meters, with another 50,000 pieces preserved in the vaults and storerooms.

There are several different tours you can follow once inside the Vatican Museum. The highlight of the tour is the Sistine Chapel, so be sure to follow one of the signs that lead there. Since the museum itself closes in early afternoon, you'll want to complete the inside touring before the courtyard. After you are done at the museum, continue your tour of the Vatican at St. Peter's Basilica.

Your visit to the Vatican, including the Museums, will involve lots of walking. There are several steep and winding staircases that you'll need to navigate along the way. Check out the albums we have posted on our Facebook Fan Page to get an idea of the walking. Plan to spend several hours at the Vatican and you still won't see it all.