Five hours in Rome

On our return from Venice, Crystal & I took a detour into Vatican City for a few hours.  We visited St. Peter's & the  Musei Vaticani to see the Capella Sistina and Raphael's Stanza della Segnatura.

Crystal in the Gallery of Maps

Floor to ceiling, the Stanza della Segnatura is covered in mosaics and frescoes.  Raphael's School of Athens, the artist's most well known fresco, is located here.  Incredible.  I took a lot of photos to use in my art history lectures.

The tiling on the floor reminded me a lot of the work in the entrance of San Marco, in Venice.  Similar design and stone.

La Capella del Rosario di Vence, containing artwork by Henri Matisse.

Photos aren't allowed inside the Sistine Chapel.  I spent some time sitting in a pew against the wall, trying to absorb all the imagery.  This was my second time in the Sistine Chapel; in 2006 I visited while studying abroad with Clemson University.  From Michelangelo's ceiling and Last Judgement to the paintings by Perugino, Boticelli and Ghirlandaio, I was in complete awe.  St. Peter's was our final stop before heading back to the train station to return to Guardia.  The basilica is massive, flanked by an even more impressive piazza.  

 On the left is Michelangelo's Pieta, sculpted by the artist in his twenties.  To the right is my first view of Bernini's Baldacchino.  The interior space of St. Peter's is enormous!

Kelly, I tossed your coins in the fountain in the Piazza San Pietro.  I didn't make it to the Trevi Fountain, but I think this will guarantee our return just as well!