The Pope and the Museums

10/23/2013 - Vatican City

Seeing the Pope's weekly address was challenging. I arrived 90 minutes early, but it was already very crowded. It didn't seem to matter that I had a ticket, but I wouldn't have been surprised if everyone actually did have a ticket: mine was number 36,861. I stayed long enough to see Pope Francis appear and wave to the crowds from his jeep. I left early to get a head-start on the museums.

I only saw the suggested highlights of the Vatican Museums, which still took me almost three hours. One of the first stops was a view of the Vatican Gardens, where the retired Pope Benedict XVI resides. Inside, the museum was full of sculpture, paintings, tapestries, and more priceless objects. I had favorites: I liked the room with statues for all the Muses, the gallery of maps, fifty-five small rooms for contemporary art, and of course, the Sistine Chapel. 

Pictured: One of the contemporary pieces in the Vatican Museums, Mary and John at the cross