Day 21 Tuesday July 26

Today we went to the Vatican. There was so much to see it was a bit overwhelming! We started in the Pinacoteca, the Vatican picture gallery.

The most interesting to me was the Stefaneschi Altarpiece, commissioned from Giotto for the Confessio of Old Saint Peter's by Cardinal Jacopo Stefaneschi. The cardinal belonged to a patrician Roman family and was known as a patron of the arts. The polyptych is painted on both sides so that it could be viewed by the entire congregation. The first side depicts St Peter in the center with Saint George presenting Stefaneschi, kneeling to Saint Peter. Pope Celestine V is also kneeling. The side panels depict Saint James, Saint Paul, Saint Andrew and Saint John the Evangelist. The other side shows Christ enthroned, surrounded by angels. On each side is the Crucifixion of Saint Peter and the Martyrdom of Saint Paul. Another room I found really cool was the gallery of maps. The majority of the maps were painted by Egnazio Danti in 1580-82. The ceiling is decorated with stuccoes and frescoes illustrating the importance of history and geography to the church.

I also made a point to note all of the oak trees present throughout the museum. They were found on the floor, walls, statues, paintings, etc. as a representation of the papacy.

 After passing through this room we reached the Raphael rooms were were really incredible. My favorite work was the infamous School of Athens depicting the triumph of philosophy. In the center are the greatest philosophers of the ages, Plato and Aristotle; Plato points towards the heavens while Aristotle's calm gesture indicates the vast field of nature.

Another exhibit I found neat was the gallery of modern religious art. We passed through this before finally reaching the Sistine Chapel. The Sistine Chapel represents the largest single concentration of Renaissance wall paintings executed in pure fresco. The ceiling by Michelangelo depicts Sibyls, Prophets, Jonah and Forerunners of Christ. There are also scenes from the Old Testament and Genesis. On the walls are scenes from the life of Moses and Christ. My favorite was "Entrusting the Keys to Saint Peter." My favorite work in the entire chapel however was Michelangelo's magnificent "Last Judgment." Michelangelo unifies the event of Judgment Day into a vast single, cyclical motion with the blessed rising to the left of the altar and the damned falling to the right. In the center is Christ with his mother beside him. (No Pics allowed, Sorry!)

After leaving the Vatican the whole Fordham crew went out to dinner at Naomachia. The first course was prosciutto with breaded vegetables. The second was cacha de pepe. The third was veal saltimboca and the dessert was "Lo Zozzone"which cream mixed with fruit and chocolate sauce. It was delicious! Later that night we went out to Bloom.