Adventures in Italy: Vatican City and Paragliding Norma, Part 2

The next morning we checked out of our hotel early and set out for our morning Vatican Museums tour (8am exclusive tour with Italywithus.com). Normal admission to the Vatican Museums is at 9 a.m., but I’d read that the crowds were so dense it was hard to appreciate the grandeur, so we elected to splurge a bit for the pre-admission ticket at 8. Frankly, I can’t imagine the 9 a.m. crowds because by 8 the place was already an absolute zoo! And we were there in the low season! 

Unfortunately, our headsets didn’t work and our guide was a bit obnoxious so I can’t recommend the company, but I still would recommend getting the early tickets since it saved us lots of time in lines and the crowds got worse and worse the longer we were there. 

Sadly our itinerary didn’t allow time for the Vatican City paintings exhibits (definitely have to go back), but we did wander (fairly quickly) through some of the Vatican Museum's sculptures and tapestries before arriving at My Man's favorite exhibit: the Gallery of Maps, which outlined with stunning accuracy the breadth and power of the Vatican's dominion (all the better to intimidate supplicants).  In addition to the maps along the walls, the ceiling's frescoes are amazing.

My favorite room was the Raphael room.  I loved seeing the paintings and imagining the rivalry between the two starkly contrasting personalities of Rafael and Michelangelo.  

I especially loved the symbols of diversity--whether indicative of a progressive Pope (as our guide indicated) or of Rafael himself (as I am more inclined to believe), it was wonderful to see the culmination of various religious symbols and philosophers and races brought together to represent enlightenment. 

By the time we got to the Sistine Chapel, we were shoulder to shoulder with other people staring up at Michelangelo's masterpiece on the ceiling and at his Last Judgement on the alter wall. It is really amazing to see in person. I recommend Steve Rick’s audio guide for both the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica (our tour guide left us right before the chapel). After a sufficient time of neck-kricking staring at the ceiling and walls (although really, there are so many paintings and stories in this room you could really spend hours), we reluctantly headed out to see the Basilica. (No pictures allowed in the Chapel, but here is Wikipedia's complete gallery of the ceiling and here is the Last Judgment.)  And here's one picture of the iconic Adam by open source pics: 

Just before heading into the Basilica from the Sistine Chapel, we passed by these mosaic gems depicting the life of Christ.  Nearly hidden, they were stunning in their vibrant simplicity.

Perhaps the most amazing part of the entire Vatican City experience for me, was to see Michelangelo's Pieta’, housed in St. Peter’s Basilica after just having seen his fresco masterpieces (in spite of his adamant claim that he was a sculpture, not a painter) and then gazing up at the dome he designed as his last artistic triumph. To consider the man who so completely epitomizes the renaissance, re-making himself again and again as an artist to such acclaim from the beginning to the end of his life, is truly inspiring. 

The sheer scale of the art in the Basilica is another jaw-dropping experience. Until you are there, you simply cannot appreciate the hugeness of it all. The “little” cherubs are bigger than a person and everything gets bigger from there. It’s simply stunning (and a little much, honestly). 

For me, the entire experience was inspiring and fascinating and wonderful, but too busy and gaudy to be sacred. Give me a quiet mountain top or forest glen, and there is where my soul renews.

And that is exactly where we headed next. After stopping for one last pizza in Rome, we grabbed our rental car and headed for the hills of Norma. 

Our little AirBnB apartment was literally perched on a cliff (the balcony stuck out over the drop off) and it was impossible to drive to (we meandered on foot through tiny rock alleyways to find it), but it was enchanting. The bed faced full-window walls on three sides and the sun shone in brightly.

We dropped off bags and headed straight for the paragliding launch at the Norba archaeological site. There, a herd of sheep grazed, families picnicked, the sun shone, the grass and wildflowers smelled enchanting, and the half-ruined stone castle stood sentinel on the hill behind us. 

My Man launched into the sunset and soared as I soaked in the last of the day’s sunshine and my soul expanded. As much as I loved Rome, I loved the quiet hills of Norma even more.  In fact, we loved Norma so much we were tempted to ditch the rest of our trip and just stay there!  To find out what we decided, you'll have to read Part 3 . . .