Rome: Vatican Museum, Pastasciutta lunch and Cafe Vaticano gelato

On my first visit to Rome I was so upset at the wealth of the Catholic Church that I did not think I would return.  When Sylvia was interested on our recent visit I agreed to go again.  This time I was surprised at how much artwork was part of the building and how little I remember from my first visit.  It was more pleasant with the traditional Roman bookends of pasta and gelato.  The above photo is of the Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II where we crossed the River Tiber to go to the Vatican.  You can see the dome of St Peter's Basilica.

We walked up the Via della Conciliazione towards the Vatican where the famous Piazza San Pietro, which is overlooked by St Peters, is embraced by the curved colonnades. It is such an evocative place with memories of so many scenes of the Pope and crowds in the public square.  My favourite movie memory is from The Scarlet and the Black where Gregory Peck's monsignor walks around the border between the Vatican and Italy to tease Christopher Plummer's Nazi SS captain.

Sylvia was really there for the cheap pasta.  She had read about Pastasciutta (Via delle Grazie, 5) so we made our way there and joined a very long queue.  It took almost an hour to queue and then wait a few minutes for our fresh pasta to be cooked.  We were just behind a group of teenagers with an never ending group of friends who joined them at various times.  Though they were amusing to watch.  

Sylvia had the Strozzapreti with Truffle Sauce and Parmesan and I had the Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe (cheese and pepper).  At 7 euros per pasta dish, it was rather cheap for the tourist part of Rome.  When I asked for grated parmesan they spooned it on with a large serving spoon.  We took it to the Piazza del Risorgimento to sit and eat.  Our lunch was very good with great flavours, lots of creamy sauce and al dente pasta.  It was quite a large helping and I did not finish mine.

Then we went into the Vatican Museum.  I appreciated the cheap lunch when I paid 20 euros for me and 8 euros for Sylvia.  I think the cost goes towards the upkeep of the museum rather than to help the less fortunate.  Don't get me started on Catholic wealth.  We started by enjoying some sunshine in the courtyards.  No prizes for guessing why this one was called the Pinecone Courtyard.

Then we headed inside into the maze of crowded hallways.  The hallway in this picture was so crowded I did not even contemplate heading in this direction.  We did not do a tour of any sort and as you will see by my commentary on my photos, must have missed a lot of stories and symbolism in all the artwork.

Our first destination was the Pio Clementino collection of classical sculpture.  I loved this Octagonal Courtyard with statues around the edges.  No doubt I enjoyed this because I was fresh to all the statues.  After walking forever with so many artworks, it was hard not to feel overwhelmed by a wealth of artworks.  (The sort of experience that makes one think of Stendhal's Syndrome.)

This statue is of Perseus holding up Medusa's head was impressive and a little disturbing.  I could not help but think of feminist rethinking of the monster Medusa as a woman wronged and righteous female rage.

The Hall of the Muses had striking statues dating from the time of Emperor Hadrian which were displayed in contrast with Pompeian red painted walls.

On the vaulted ceiling of the Hall of the Muses are frescoes by Tommaso Conca that represent Apollo and the Muses as inspiration for the arts.

The Round Hall had a domed ceiling imitating the Parthenon.

And yet more corridors of gold and marble with more classical statues.

This is a close up of a part of the ceiling you can see in the previous photo.  It interested me because the man at the bottom of the picture struck me as looking quite bored of the adoration happening behind him.  It is a change from all the people filled with religious awe.

We then set off walking down a long long hallway decorated with artwork on the walls and ceilings.  They were busy with the occasional group tour passing us by.  This painting was notable for the shocking violence of the characters.  I think it tells the story of Herod sending his soldiers to kill all babies in a futile attempt to avoid the power of Jesus Christ.

And this artwork is of Jesus rising from the dead.  I was surprised how triumphant he looks.

This part of the hallway had incredibly gold ceilings and fascinating ancient maps on the walls, representing mostly parts of the Roman empire. 

Who doesn't love the detailed illustrations and elegant calligraphy on an ancient map!

More details of the illustrations on the ceiling of the hallway of maps.  So much detail it was hard to know where to look.  It was easy to get distracted by a picture and narrowly avoid other rubberneckers.

After a while I took less and less photos because I was overwhelmed at all the lavish artworks.  Many of them expressed the ultimate power of the Pope who represented God on earth, following St Peter being described as the rock on which the church was built.  The above picture, that was painted to cover a lot of a wall, is typical representation of the Pope presiding over other dignitaries of the Church and his link to God the Father above in Heaven.  I am not sure if this was part of the Raphael rooms but it is the sort of large scale meaningful paintings that covered the walls and ceilings of those rooms.

Finally we arrived at the Sistine Chapel.  It is probably the best know artwork in the museum.  Many years ago I was told stories about Michaelangelo lying on his back to paint this ceiling.  The room is crowded and everyone's eyes head towards the famous ceiling.  After being welcomed to photograph the rest of the artworks, it was a shock to be told we could not photograph the most famous artwork in the museum.  The cynic in me thought it was so they could sell more images in the giftshop.  Perhaps the spurred me on to take a sneaky photo including the Creation of Adam where God and Man reach out to each other.  It begat a multitude of imitations and satire.

All signs had led to the Sistine Chapel.  Once we had been there everything else seemed an anticlimax.  We walked through many more hallways with artwork, archeological artifacts, shiny liturgical candelabra and crucifixes, and cabinets of curiosities.  So much wealth.  So much detail.  And we had so little concentration.  

It was a relief to reach the gift shop because it meant we were almost out.  I refused to give the Church any more money by making purchases in the gift shop.  It seemed obscene to ask for more after that display of riches.  In fact I even wandered what impact it would have on the economy if the Church sold all its property and artworks.  

We were so tired we took the lift to the ground floor.  It was a large interior panelled in wooden with benches around three sides and an operator,  The fresh air as we walked outside was so good.

Being tired means making bad decisions.  When we saw the fancy gelato in a glass at Cafe Vaticano just opposite the museum exit, we wanted one of those and did not think of price and flavours.  When we were asked for three flavours, we gave two - pistachio and fruits of the forest.  I think they gave us more pistachio rather than less gelato.  It looked amazing, and ought to have for 16 euros, but it was too much for us.  I was so tired I almost bought expensive focaccia as well but after sitting for a while, I gathered my energy to return to our apartment where we could find cheaper bread.

It was interesting to return to the Vatican Museum, older and wiser.  I was no so angered by it but I still believe that the Church should use its wealth to look after the needy rather than its inner sanctum.  But I can admit that the artwork is amazing and I can at least acknowledge that the Church is playing an important role in conserving the historic artwork and making it available to the public.