Italy Day 6: The Vatican and a Cooking Class

We wrapped up our three days in Rome with visits to St Peter’s Basilica (including a climb to the top of the dome), and the Vatican Museums (to see the Sistine Chapel), with an Italian cooking class as our grand finale.

The Basilica is overwhelming. I used Brian Schmisek’s The Rome of Peter and Paul as a guide to its key features and to identify links to the historical Peter. The Vatican area is about two miles northwest of the Colosseum and the center of Ancient Rome, across the River Tiber, and outside the city limits. In antiquity, the location, Ager Vaticanus, was the site of a park, gardens, and a circus for entertainment. It was also the location of a couple of cemeteries as it was illegal to bury the dead inside the city. According to Catholic tradition, Peter was executed upside down by Nero in this area after the great fire of 64 (according to the non-biblical Acts of Peter, which were written in the second century, well after Peter’s death). The 98-foot tall obelisk that stands in the middle of St Peter’s square was Nero’s obelisk and would have been one of the last things Peter saw.

Peter was buried behind the circus, and there archaeological evidence suggests that there was a small shrine in a graveyard. The land was donated to the church during Emperor Constantine’s reign (early 300s) with a basilica erected over Peter’s burial site in 324. In 1452, Pope Nicolas V made plans to “renovate” the crumbling building but it wasn’t until 1506 that Pope Julius laid the first stone of a very ambitious project and appointed Bramante chief architect. Raphael became the project’s leader in 1514 followed by Michelangelo in 1547, who died before the dome’s completion in 1593. Maderno completed the nave and facade in 1614 and the building was consecrated in 1626. Bernini was appointed chief architect in 1629 and completed many of the statues.

To help raise money to pay for this 150-year “renovation,” there was an increase in paid-for indulgences, defined as “remission of punishment for sins, which reduces or eliminates the amount of time that an individual needs to spend in Purgatory after death.” A friar who led the campaign coined the phrase “when the coin in the box rings, a soul from purgatory sings.” It is unsurprising that the Protestant Church formed at this time. On 31 October 1517, Martin Luther (1483-1546) nailed his 99 theses on the door of Wittenberg Castle church in Germany, including thesis 86 which said, “Why does not the pope, whose wealth is today greater than the riches of the richest, build just one church of St. Peter with his own money, rather than with the money of poor believers?”

We felt that the whole Vatican was an opulent display of wealth, probably due to the Catholic church’s historical attempt to display her authority and power. There is a tremendous amount of art inside which I fail to appreciate and I do not include many pictures of the art below. Schmisek wrote, “It is difficult to see this mighty structure and not think that it might be more a monument to man than God. On the facade we see the Borghese family and Paul V’s name displayed prominently. But where is Jesus?” However, we witnessed it continuing to play its role with the Catholic faithful which saddens me as it is not aligned with what I believe the Bible teaches.

Talking of the Bible and the basilica, there are thirty two images on the roof of the atrium as one enters the basilica that depict the life of Jesus. While twenty three of these images depict narratives found in the Gospels and Acts, nine of them depict scenes not found in the Bible and that help present the authority of this site and the basilica.

The main central doors, known as the Filarete doors after their sculptor, depicts the scenes of Paul’s death (by beheading) and Peter’s death (by upside down crucifixion). An overweight Nero looks on in both images. There is little evidence that Paul was executed here, and as a Roman citizen, he probably would have been treated differently.

After an hour in the basilica it was time to climb the 551 steps to the top of the dome. we had prepurchased tickets so access was quick and easy. The climb took some time and the views were great, somewhat marred by barriers.

We had a couple of hours after this overwhelming visit before our time slot for the museums and it was time to eat!

Finally we were in the Sistine Chapel, the pope’s personal chapel and where the conclave had recently elected the new pope. No photos were allowed and I got fussed at for trying! We spotted the Creation of Adam on the ceiling. Everyone knows that happy image.

Next was a highlight of the trip. Janet had booked us into a cooking class where we made spaghetti carbonara, tiramisu, and more. The four of us were joined by another couple and Fabio gave us excellent instruction.

What an amazing three days we had in Rome and what a grand finale this cooking class was. After six days of our trip, we were well over our jet lag but long term weariness was setting in after so many activities and so much walking. We were so thankful for comfortable rooms!