On Visiting Rome and St. Peter's Basilica

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So, as some of the people I’ve met on here know, I’m studying architecture in Italy this semester. Our group trip this weekend was to Rome, and on Friday we visited and toured the Vatican, including St. Peter’s and the Sistine Chapel. I figured I’d post my experience for anyone here who wants to hear about it.

The Vatican Museum was pretty amazing. Every room seemed to have enormous murals painted on the walls. Even the floors had more detail than much of what is built today. This part of the tour culminated with the Sistine Chapel. It was a bit smaller than I’d imagined, even knowing the dimensions more or less, but the amount of detail and meaning Michelangelo put into the ceiling was nothing short of awe inspiring. After that, we left the chapel and began walking to St. Peter’s and Vatican Square.

The sheer scale and detail of the exterior alone was utterly amazing. The entrance was absolutely gorgeous, however, I will never forget the… I guess shock of walking through the doors and turning the corner to see the interior of St. Peter’s. There are no words that can accurately describe the scale, beauty, majesty, and power (not to mention architectural impact) of St. Peter’s Basilica. And while many people have seen images of the inside, even those are completely incapable of conveying what the experience is like. I was completely speechless the entire time we were inside, partly because I was pretty sure I would start crying if I tried to speak. One of my friends, who isn’t a particularly emotional guy, was crying nearly the entire time we were walking around.

I’ll post a few pictures I took, and would stress that if anyone here, whether you’re Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, agnostic, atheist, whatever, to visit if the opportunity ever comes up. It is a truly indescribable experience.
 
Kurisu35712 said:
So, as some of the people I’ve met on here know, I’m studying architecture in Italy this semester. Our group trip this weekend was to Rome, and on Friday we visited and toured the Vatican, including St. Peter’s and the Sistine Chapel. I figured I’d post my experience for anyone here who wants to hear about it.

The Vatican Museum was pretty amazing. Every room seemed to have enormous murals painted on the walls. Even the floors had more detail than much of what is built today. This part of the tour culminated with the Sistine Chapel. It was a bit smaller than I’d imagined, even knowing the dimensions more or less, but the amount of detail and meaning Michelangelo put into the ceiling was nothing short of awe inspiring. After that, we left the chapel and began walking to St. Peter’s and Vatican Square.

The sheer scale and detail of the exterior alone was utterly amazing. The entrance was absolutely gorgeous, however, I will never forget the… I guess shock of walking through the doors and turning the corner to see the interior of St. Peter’s. There are no words that can accurately describe the scale, beauty, majesty, and power (not to mention architectural impact) of St. Peter’s Basilica. And while many people have seen images of the inside, even those are completely incapable of conveying what the experience is like. I was completely speechless the entire time we were inside, partly because I was pretty sure I would start crying if I tried to speak. One of my friends, who isn’t a particularly emotional guy, was crying nearly the entire time we were walking around.

I’ll post a few pictures I took, and would stress that if anyone here, whether you’re Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, agnostic, atheist, whatever, to visit if the opportunity ever comes up. It is a truly indescribable experience.
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I only wish I could! Breathtaking just to look at the pics. Can you post more??? God Bless, Memaw
 
You certainly have been lucky, as indeed We were last year, we saw all you saw,
We spent 4. Days in Rome and saw a number of church’s and Cathedrals,all were absolutely amazing , I thought the Collossium was every bit as amazing, the year before last we were blessed with a European River cruise,starting From Vienna and ending in Paris,
Saw many Church’s and Cathedrals , simply amazing …
 
Thank you for sharing your experience with us, Kurisu. Nice camera 👍

I was also in Rome, back in mid-January. If people get the chance, I do recommend to try & visit St. Pauls outside the walls. Not only is it a beautiful place to visit, but recent - just a few years ago, I believe - excavations beneath the high altar have revealed a tomb. This hasn’t been fully exposed, nor opened, but why else would the high altar be where it is if not directly above the tomb of the apostle, as at St Peter’s?

It is a wonderful moment to pray right at the resting place of St Paul himself. 🙂
 
Kurisu35712 said:
http://th02.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/f/2015/060/b/9/untitled_by_kuri_su-d8jz83m.jpg
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I know the two statues in the back of this image are St. Helena (mother of Constantine) on the left, and then St. Veronica with her veil in the center. On the right is Bernini’s Baldacchino over the main altar (the canopy-like structure). Behind that (looking through it) you can see the stained glass window of the dove. I’m pretty sure the four pendentives (two of which are visible), the triangular parts supporting the dome, depict the four Evangelists. I’m not sure who is depicted by the sculpture on the far left. This was taken from the beginning of the transept facing the altar and the back of the basilica.
 
One of my biggest regrets walking through St. Peter’s was not having a wide angle lens, or any interchangeable lenses for that matter. I got a higher quality digital camera. It’s 30x optical zoom, which came in handy for details when it didn’t end up blurry. I’m not sure how many megapixels. It’s back in my room at the moment. Very good camera, and it can get a lot of detail and wasn’t too expensive. I’ll post details on it later on as well for anyone interested.
 
Great pictures, we went twice last year as we are fortunate enough to be within 4 hours driving distance of Rome when we’re back in Italy.

I have to say that for me, the most impressive and moving place we visited wasn’t St Peter’s, but was the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls, where you can actually view St Paul’s sarcophagus. This isn’t my picture, but I took many like it! There were far fewer people there, it was absolutely amazing.

 
Isca said:
Great pictures, we went twice last year as we are fortunate enough to be within 4 hours driving distance of Rome when we’re back in Italy.

I have to say that for me, the most impressive and moving place we visited wasn’t St Peter’s, but was the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls, where you can actually view St Paul’s sarcophagus. This isn’t my picture, but I took many like it! There were far fewer people there, it was absolutely amazing.

http://www2.artflakes.com/artwork/p...outside-the-wall-basilica-hdr2.jpg?1323634525
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We didn’t get a chance to see that one! It looks beautiful! My roommates and I went to see San Carlo by Borromini. It was very impressively detailed for such a tiny church. It was smaller than the side chapel at Santa Maria Novella if I’m not mistaken.
 
The photograph’s taken are stunning and inspirational. I especially like the unique angle’s that were used to take these shot’s.
 
I’ll be touring the the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica among other areas of the Vatican Museums in about two weeks time, and these pictures are making me tremble with excitement.

Going with a group of Protestants from my Methodist university for a class. To be able to show them all this beauty… among the group is my roommate, who often bemoans the fact that her non-denominational church looks more like a classroom than a sanctuary. There’s a reason behind the beauty of our churches, and I look forward to being able to see the heart of it in person.
 
RuthTherese said:
I’ll be touring the the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica among other areas of the Vatican Museums in about two weeks time, and these pictures are making me tremble with excitement.

Going with a group of Protestants from my Methodist university for a class. To be able to show them all this beauty… among the group is my roommate, who often bemoans the fact that her non-denominational church looks more like a classroom than a sanctuary. There’s a reason behind the beauty of our churches, and I look forward to being able to see the heart of it in person.
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Be Sure to visit the other church’s and Cathedrals,They are also Awesome to vist…
Plus visit the Colosseum,. And the street markets,that’s were you get great leather shoes,
And visit the Keyhole, there is so much to see, we packed in a huge amount in 4 Days when there, good luck, the taxi drivers ,nah,you will discover for yourself,lol
 
RuthTherese said:
I’ll be touring the the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica among other areas of the Vatican Museums in about two weeks time, and these pictures are making me tremble with excitement.

Going with a group of Protestants from my Methodist university for a class. To be able to show them all this beauty… among the group is my roommate, who often bemoans the fact that her non-denominational church looks more like a classroom than a sanctuary. There’s a reason behind the beauty of our churches, and I look forward to being able to see the heart of it in person.
Click to expand...
Watch out for selfie stick guys, don’t take roses from people, never pay more than 5 euro for a margherita pizza, don’t give beggars money (half of them aren’t as old as they look), and don’t buy counterfeit purses from the street vendors. I’ve heard that if the police or customs catch you with a fake purse, they can fine you. Ignore anyone trying to sell you anything. You can haggle for some of the nicer scarves though if you want a scarf, but it was starting to get warmer in Rome while we were there. It’s a lot colder in Tuscany right now.

The Colosseum was pretty awesome. Definitely visit the Pantheon as well. You can also go to mass there if you have time, as it’s a Catholic church. Either way, the dome is amazing. If you’re into architecture and modern art, Zaha Hadid’s museum is also in Rome, which was pretty cool, but I’m glad we saw it before St. Peter’s. It wouldn’t have held the same effect after.
 
We’re spending two days in Rome as part of a larger class project. There’s also plans to see the Colosseum, Piazza Novona, and the Trevi Fountain.

Also getting to see the old papal seat in Avignon and the Cathedral of Santa Eulàlia in Barcelona. Ten days traveling around the Mediterranean for credit; quite a spring break!
 
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