As of Thursday I have officially finished working remotely and have the city off to myself. I've decided it's a good idea to get the major tourist attractions out the way, before the Easter weekend, and then next week and can explore Rome's smaller neighbourhoods and little known gems. First up was the Vatican Musuems- partly because tickets during the week of Easter sold out months ago. The only entry time left was first thing- so be it. Rolling up to the museum at 8:30am, there were already hoards of school groups and tour guides waiting in the queue. But I was still comparatively early and close to the the front of the festival barriers (headliners: Sistine Chapel and the Pope).
On this occasion, the perks of travelling alone were in my favour. When the doors opened to the Museum, I was able to sneak ahead of all the groups looking lost and confused in the foyer, and made it as one of the first ones in the museum. That meant I was first to see the sunrise over the dome of St Peter's Basilica, first to walk the immense and empty Gallery of Maps, and even had a completely private audience with a Van Gogh.
With the bustle of tour groups and school behind me, I could enjoy ever detail of the halls without a selfie stick in my face or crowds pushing back and forth.
The size of the Vatican would suggest that its most famous rooms: Rafael's Rooms and the Sistine Chapel, would have been commissioned by different Pontiffs, but as it turns out, we have one guy to thank for it all: Pope Julius II. In just 10 years, the Pontiff saw the creation of Michaelangelo's Sistine Chapel and Rafael's Rooms - the Hall of Constantine, Room of Heliodorus, Room of the Segnatura, and the Room of the Fire in the Borgo.
Prior to leaving for Rome, I had been told by more than a handful of people that the Sistine chapel can be quite underwhelming compared to the numerous other guided rooms in the Vatican. And initially, I agreed with them. Although large, the chapel is a simple rectangle with a very honest-looking alter and nothing special in the way of statues or wood. More than that, it's crammed with tourists who are repeatedly told to keep quiet to little avail. But as a solo traveller, when I want to sit and soak in an experience, I don't feel the need to rush on anybody else's behalf. Around the peripherals of the chapel are benches- which you would hardly notice for the number of people piled onto them. Waiting for one of the rare spots on the bench, I sat down to absorb Michaelangelo's famous frescos. What I learnt quite quickly in the Sistine, is that the chapel isn't underwhelming, it's actually totally overwhelming. It's easy enough for the average tourist to say "the Sistine Chapel was only as good as the other rooms in the Vatican", but I don't think that person would have truly taken the time to just sit, be quiet, and observe.
Sat for 40 minutes, and with a creaky neck to show for it, I felt like I had only visually explored 10% of the roof space. Opting to go without the tour guide or audio headset, I couldn't tell you anything about the stories in the frescos- other than each one is a story from the book of Genisis, but in a way, I just got to enjoy them for the feat of art and architecture that they are. Commissioned by Pope Julius II, Michelangelo took four years to paint the ceiling and lunettes at the top of the wall- which was a considerably dangerous job for a man who had a) never painted..., b) constructed his own scaffolding, c) spent the majority of those 4 years with toxic paints dripping into is eyes, almost causing blindness. I had a sore neck from looking at the ceiling for less than an hour. It's any miracle that Michelangelo wasn't crippled by the end of his masterpiece.
“My beard turns up to heaven; my nape falls in, Fixed on my spine: my breast-bone visibly Grows like a harp: a rich embroidery Bedews my face from brush-drops thick and thin.”
Without a doubt, the best part of travelling alone is being unapologetically self-indulgent. Want to sit for 40 minutes in the Sistine? Done. What to wake up at ungodly hours to see it? Sorted. Want to see your favourite bits twice? Absolutely. Getting ahead of the crowds and round the museum in record breaking time left me with time to jump back into my favourite bits of the museum again.. but two hours later with the swarm of tour groups. While I am glad I went round a second time, it made me even more grateful that I got in the museum early and ahead of the tour groups as soon as possible... The gallery of Maps isn't so picturesque when an iPhone hits you in the side of the head 🙃
P.s. did you know that Vatican City has its own fire department??
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