We visited the contemporary art collection, the candelabra rooms, the map rooms - did you realize that the tradition of putting insets of major cities into maps came about in the 17th century? We're doing it to this day. Looked at about a zillion tapestries, but I got distracted when my phone/camera ran out of memory and I had to delete a bunch of older photos on the fly to make room for the new stuff. Rafael's rooms were very interesting, too, paying tribute to the arts & music, philosophy, mathematics and the law.
Eventually, after a very thorough briefing on what we were about to see, we entered the Sistine Chapel and spent nearly a half hour gazing at the frescos there. The mind boggles. The chapel is still used for sacred masses, so they ask for silence once you are inside, but there are always too many idiots who think the rules, as well as those forbidding photos, don't apply to them, for some reason. This results in disturbing what "silence" existed with loud announcements of "Silencio!" After leaving the Sistine area, we made our way into the greatest basilica of all, St Peter's. The scale of the place is beyond belief, and the masterpieces of great art contained there could take a lifetime of study.
There's one bit of the Final Judgement scene which Michelango painted in the Sistine where the monster, Minos, welcomes sinners to Hell. It seems that Michelango and one of Pope Justin's henchment didn't get on too well, and so he immortalized the man's likeness in his depiction of the monster, who is also being bitten by a demon in a sensitive body part. Lesson learned - It doesn't really pay over the long haul to tick off an artist. There's a similar anecdote told about one of the sculptures in St. Peter's, which depicts the Church of England, which had been giving the papacy some grief over the years, as a tiny spot on the map, squashed beneath the big toe of one of the Catholic angels.
After the tour was over, we decided we'd had about enough for one morning, and made our way rapidly back to our apartment for lunch. Decided to return to the Pantheon in daylight, so we could go inside and see the oculus and the artwork. We made a stop at the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, too, and looked at some marvelous artwork in a much less crowded venue, including a statue of Christ Bearing the Cross by Michelangelo.
Window-shopped out way back to the apartment, then I made a quick trip to the Carrefour Express for a couple things and prepared some crostini, poured ourselves a glass of red, and relaxed before our evenings's excursions.
Thought we would dine by the Tiber somewhere, but we walked a long way without seeing even a panini joint close enough for takeout. We walked the far side of the Tiber until eventually we came to the edge of the Trastevere, and began to smell food. Took the first right down a side street and after a few blocks got a table on the street at Il DuCa, a random selection. I had the Fettucine alla Funghi Porcii and M had the Ravioli di Ricotta e Spinaci con Crema di Tartufo Nero - a mouthful to say, and a delicious many mouthfuls to eat. Got into a conversation with a nice young German couple, teachers, who were also celebrating their last night in Rome - by eating all of the courses in their proper order from the menu. They preceded us, and they were still valiantly assailing their Secondi when we departed, full satisfied with only our Primi Piatti.
A bit of a long walk home, but it was pleasant under the century old sycamore trees along the Tiber, and we found our way home without incident.
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