Vatican Museum

A must-see when at the Vatican is the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel.  The tour takes one through the museum proper, through the original Papal apartments occupied by pope Julius II who commissioned Michelangelo for the Sistine Chapel and Rafael for his own apartments, through the ghastly Borgia apartments, and finally the Sistine Chapel.  The next few pictures were randomly snapped throughout the museum.






This is the Colossus head of Nero that once adorned the Colosseum.

Nero's bath tub.

One of the many fine tapestries.

One of the door crests.

The next few are from the Papal apartments of Julius II.

That ended the paintings on the walls of the rooms of Pope Julius II.  We next proceeded to the Borgia apartments which Pope Paul VI had redecorated.  Apparently, he not only sought to modernize the Mass and theology, but also the paintings in these apartments.  I have included a few of these which are in stark contrast to the beauty and elegance of the Vatican to this point.  Some of these painting border on offensive, such as the "crucified businessman" which I chose not to include.  You can see from the art below why we hurried through these rooms with undue haste.

St. Mary Major

Of the other significant churches we visited was Saint Mary Major.  It had magnificent side altars and ceiling and the main altar was elegant.  One of the side chapels contained the body of Pope St. Pius V.

The Main Altar.

Below the main altar was an ornate shire ....

...which contained a piece of Christ's manger.

Around Rome

Here  are some general pictures from our wanderings around Rome.

Here is a church which was originally a Roman temple.  You can see the re-use plainly from the side where an ancient temple became a Catholic Church.

Here is picture from inside the Pantheon. Formerly a temple to many Roman gods and now a shrine to our Lady and the Martyrs.

This is the (in)famous Trevi Fountain - splashpoint for various starlets.

Dr D'Amico has been teaching Shari how to do extractions over the course of our trip.  Here Shari demonstrates the D'Amico technique on a stone (but frightened none the less) Muse.

The Roman Forum.

Constantine's Arch.

Obligatory picture of your humble narrator contemplating going on the Scaresdale Diet upon return to States with the lovely Mrs. smiling her approval.

Julius Caesar's funeral pyre. Obviously,  guilty members of the Brutus family continue to put fresh flowers on the spot.

The Colosseum.

Inside the Colosseum.

Finally, an exchange between between Tony and our 75 year old taxi driver.

Rome

Our first day in Rome, Mass was offered in the St. Sebastian catacombs on the crypt of St. Sebastian.  In this picture, you can see that we laid our rosaries and metals on the lid of the tomb at the beginning of Mass so that they would become 4th class relics.

Once again, the experience of assisting at Mass in the crypt of this great martyr was a sublime experience.

Here is a collection of photos from our first day in Rome.  The city is beautiful but also marred by excessive graffiti everywhere you looked, except within the walls of Vatican City.

Michelangelo's Pieta - every bit as exquisite in person as one would expect from this, his most beautiful piece of art.

The body of Pope St. Pius X within this side altar in St. Peter's.

This is a view of the outside wall of the Vatican from our convent.

Vicenzo

Sunday May 2nd was our last day at Vicenzo. We assisted at Mass at Camp Darby before heading off to Multipulciano in search of a couple of bottles of the areas excellent wines.  The fresh Pecorino cheese was also excellent.

As we drove between the different mountain towns of Italy, one of the sources of entertainment was our Garmin GPS, which announced turn-by-turn directions to us in a British accent.  Here is an example of the GPS giving us directions for a turn on our way up to Multipulciano.  Some of the long Italian names spoken by an upper-class Brit were really hilarious.



We next drove south to spend a couple of days in Assisi.  We found lodgings in a convent in the old city just a short walk to the Basilica di San Francisco.  The convent was humble but elegant and the Sisters were a delight.

Fr. Voigt celebrated Mass in their old grotto chapel and Dr. D'Amico translated Father's sermon into Italian for the Sisters and a few other guests.  Dr. D'Amico not only did most of the driving and tour guiding, but he also translated sermons.

Seeing the Basilica here in Assisi and throughout Italy is a bittersweet experience.  The sweetness comes from the beauty and grandeur of these churches where countless artists have created an atmosphere that lifts one's attention and spirit up to a heavenly level with beauty beyond description.  The immediate reaction for most Catholics would be to find the glowing sanctuary light indicating the presence of the Blessed Sacrament and kneel
in prayer. The bitter part is that most of these great houses of worship have been turned into museums and the treasured side altars and tabernacles bare of the great treasure that Christ left for us in His True Presence. Often, after much searching, one may find the Blessed Sacrament in the farthest corner of the church while the grand main altar is roped off and relegated as an article to be observed like some fine art gallery.

Ancient relics of the crown of thorns and the bones of the Apostles are kept n display cases in the Basilica basement instead of adorning the bare altars as they once did.

Every once in a while, a particular item catches the eye and gives pause.  For me, it was this crucifix in the lower Basilica beneath the tomb of St. Francis.  It depicts Christ's passion as testified by the evidence on the Shroud of Turin and needs no further description by me.

Finally, Fr. Voigt offered Mass at the tomb of St. Francis of Assisi.  Unfortunately, the picture came out blurry but the experience was humbling and could not be captured by a single photo.

Florence

So many Renaissance artists originated here that we started our wanderings at the Uffizi Gallery which had some spectacular works, particularly the original statue of "David" and several unfinished works by Michelangelo.

Father Voigt offered the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass at the Santa Croce Basilica in the Niccolini Chapel.  This basilica is a splendid Gothic masterpiece founded in 1294.  It contains numerous artistic treasures including frescoes by Giotto and the funeral monuments of Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, and Rossini.

This is the ceiling of the Niccolini Chapel.

Galileo

Marconi

Michelangelo

Pilgrims

Lunch

Florence - river view