Trip to the Vatican and its Museum

All I can say about going to the Vatican and its amazing museum is – WOW!!! The museum and Duomo (church) are so huge, that you feel really small when you are there.
The coolest thing about the Vatican Museum besides the art in it is the fact that they let you take photos in the museum and the church. I haven’t been to a museum in years that will let you take photos and I was pumped. You are not allowed to take any images of the Sistine Chapel, but I could live with that.



The Borghese Museum was more painting orientated, with a few sculptures here and there that are very famous and you couldn’t take photos. The Vatican Museum was full of sculptures and object d'art and the church is so huge, you just can’t imagine the scale of it until you are in it. I saw about a half dozen other churches around Rome and the Vatican is above and beyond.

It has been raining most of my stay here in Rome, but that kept the air fresh and clean. The real challenge on rainy days is maneuvering around all the umbrellas and not getting hit in the eye.

Check out the slide show, it is packed with interesting stuff.

Art Adventures in Italy

I like a good dose of artistic stimulation every once and a while, so I find myself in Italy today. What a treat it is to start my Italian museum viewing in Rome, a city with thousands of years of art spread around the city.

My long time friend Deonne (of Galaxy Glass on eBay) and I have been making the rounds to the most important museums that Rome has to offer. We have also been sampling the gastronomic delicacies of the Roman food industry – very yummy.

Getting to Rome was not easy; traveling long distances is just hard on the body. The pay off has been the opportunity to get up close and personal with many well known works of art. Rome is brimming with ancient sculpture of all kinds and they are everywhere.

I got started on this art experience with a visit to the Borghese Museum, which is located in the Borghese Ville and estate grounds that are very park-like. The Borghese has very interesting works of art situated in huge, high ceiling, completely decorated rooms that are painted everywhere. It might sound like decorative overkill, but the Romans manage to carry it off.

You must walk the paths that crisscross the Borghese Estate to get the full experience that the Borghese has to offer. There are marble busts of every famous Italian, spread around sections on the estate and an occasional gigantic bronze here and there.

When you get to the far side of the Borghese area that is over by where the Tiber River cuts its way through Rome, there is a hillside with a great panoramic view of Vatican City. If you worm your way down that hill, you come to the great oval of the Piazza del Popolo. There are photo opportunities everywhere, in a 360 degree circle when you stand at the base of the obelisk that rises from the center of this beautiful piazza.

We have been staying at a charming little hotel called the Hotel Locarno that is just around the corner and down the street from Piazza del Popolo. This has turned out to be a great area to stay in and the people there have been very sweet and helpful.

My next posting will be about the amazing art at the Vatican, which was way more than I expected and very much worth the trip.