Silenzo, Silenzo! No Foto. No Foto!

Adam and God - Michelangelo's masterpiece

SISTINE CHAPEL

Silenzo, Silenzo. No Foto, No Foto!

Bernini's columns

Entrance to the Vatican Museums

Words and photography by Allison O’Donoghue

“Silenzo, silenzo, no foto, no foto!” shout the Vatican guards. Who are they kidding? Guesstimate head count, at least 200 to 300 squeeze into this relatively small space of the Sistine Chapel and more pour in by the minute. No crowd control here. Get em in, get em out. Throngs crane their necks, gawk and gaze intently at the grandiosity of Michelangelo’ genius, manifested in all its power and glory in that ceiling. So much so, people faint, wail and fling themselves in ecstasy, enraptured, caught up in euphoria, thrashing into others squashed in like sardines. Those none too impressed with these antics and not caught up in the hysteria, push back or elbow them out of the way, who in turn scream louder, all reminiscent of the punk rock concerts I frequented in the 1980’s. So much for love and respect for ones surroundings.

Inside the Vatican.

Journey to the Sistine Chapel. 

“Silenzo, Silenzo, no foto no foto” repeated like a mantra. Admittedly, the noise is deafening, like a thousand chickens cackling all at once, but impossible to police. Or so I thought. I obey the first order of silence, but defy the second and start secretly taking photos, along with everyone else. Well, I didn’t come all this way for nothing!

Somehow, amongst all these people, I get noticed and tapped on the shoulder by a security guard, “no foto, no foto” he says, rolling his eyes. How did that happen? I didn’t use a flash and was, I thought being very discrete. You would think the guards would be more interested in attending to the fainting, flailing hysterical ones, but they seemed to be oblivious. Maybe they're use to it. However annoyed I was, I am deeply grateful he didn’t take my camera. I sulk for about five seconds then spot a gap on a crowded pew lining the wall of the chapel. I quickly squeeze in, determined to study the ceiling and drink it all in while waiting for rapture to overtake me. It doesn’t. I sit for a long time, studying the ceiling and watching the drama unfold around me. The ecstasy never did take hold, like those around me. But the beauty and splendour of the Sistine Chapel is undeniably outstanding.

Vatican gardens

Regardless of your religious beliefs, visiting the Vatican City is a must. A State within a State perched on Vatican Hill situated on the right bank of the Tiber River, under the sovereignty of the Pope, head of the Catholic Church. 

It stretches 44 square hectares and has over 2000 inhabitants with its own post office, bank and supermarkets. The State was enacted on February 11^th, 1929 after a Treaty between the Holy See and the Italian State was drawn up. The Treaty established the borders of the Vatican and instantly resolved centuries of problems associated with the Vatican, other country domination and surrounding Italian suburbs. The border coincides with the medieval walls built around the Piazza San Pietro adjoining the extremities of Bernini’s colonnade. 

The Vatican has been the home of various Pope(s) since 1311 when the Pope’s court returned to Rome after decades of exile in Avignon, France. Before that, the Pope resided in Lateran. Pilgrims beat a path to the centre of Christendom all year round not just because it’s the home of the Pope but also the presence of the Vicar of Christ and tomb of St Peter.  Constantine commissioned the Basilica over St Peter’s tomb in 319 AD.

Scholars, historians and the secular, visit the library, galleries and museums full to the brim with ancient treasures from all over the world, while architectural students visit for inspiration. Gian Lorenzo Bernini worked exceedingly hard and unpaid, for the love of God, from 1656 to 1667 to realise his masterpiece the Piazza S Pietro. The elliptical shape has two side colonnades covered by a gallery, upon which stand 140 statutes of the Saints. If you find a certain position, all the columns merge as one. I would not have believed it had I not seen it with my own eyes. Bernini’s precision was exact, nothing short of miraculous or maybe help from up on high.

The Vatican museums has the largest collection of artworks in the world. Ancient, Renaissance and modern statues and paintings are interspersed with papal relics. The Museo Pio-Clementine has the greatest collection outside of the Louvre' full of antique sculptures, and a must see while at the Vatican. 

Egyptian artefacts.

When you start the long winding trip to the Sistine Chapel you pass through several galleries - the Galleria degil Arazzi is filled with tapestries. The Galleria delle Mappe line the walls with ancient maps. The Apartamento di Pio V where apparently there is a short cut to the Sistine Chapel, which I didn't find, the Stanza Sobleski and the Stanza delle Immaculata Concezlone. A door leads to the first floor Stanze di Rafaele apartments built for Pope Julius II which was remodelled by Raphael who decorated the entire suite. From here you can take the staircase to the frescoed Borga Apartments which house the Museum of Modern Religious Art or go to the Sistine Chapel. On the way to the Chapel you could duck into the Room of the Aldobrandini Marriage which contains rare ancient Roman frescoes.       

Bernini's columns

Getting to the Sistine Chapel is an ordeal; you run the gauntlet of corridors large and small with signs and arrows showing the way, directing you to the main attraction. If you want to stop and study the ancient map frescoes, some of them by the great explorers Marco Polo and Christopher Columbus that line the walls, forget it, the crowd shuffles robotically towards the chapel pushing you along with the constant surge of movement. Apparently, it is relatively empty early in the morning, so that would be your best time to stop and have a good look at these riches lining the walls, not to mention the stunning ceilings. Its not only the Sistine ceiling that is ornately decorated, it is all the ceilings and walls, created by various artists throughout the ages all vying to outdo each other, until Michelangelo blew them out of the water.

The corridors and stairwells get smaller and smaller as you go along until you come to a tiny centuries old stairwell, with dangerously warn steps. Make sure you have non-slip foot wear, less you fall onto of someone creating a domino affect.

At last the chapel looms and a wall of sound unfamiliar to my ears greets me as I finally walk into the chapel and automatically look up. We shuffle in and push the already crowded space back toward the exit whether they like it or not. Maybe there could be crowd control and limit the numbers of people allowed in at one time. A fleeting thought gets louder in my head; what if there is a fire? There are no windows to jump out of and the crush to the exit would be devastating. I squash that thought and concentrate with extreme focus on that ceiling. I search for the iconic picture that many a movie company use as a logo and the Italians use for everything. I find it and start clicking away. I manage to get a few shots in before that tap on the shoulder. 

The Sistine Chapel, named after its founder Pope Sixtus IV was finally completed in the 16^th century and has served as the chamber where the College of Cardinals gather to elect the new pope. 

Contrary to popular belief, Michelangelo did not paint flat on his back as myth would have it, but painted the ceiling standing up craning backwards and paid the price with permanent back and neck pain plus eye strain. The Last Judgement fills the altar wall with the figure of Christ as judge who sits in the upper centre surrounded by saints and accompanied by Mary. The figure of a flayed human with skin hanging is apparently that of Michelangelo himself. He painted himself in this fashion to symbolically depict heaven and hell.  Maybe it was statement of the physical pain he was in.

Beautiful painted vaulted ceiling.

It was not only Michelangelo who contributed to the walls and ceiling of the Sistine Chapel but also great artists such as Perugino, Botticelli, Roselli, Signorelli, Pinturicchio, Ghirlandaio and della Gatta, who eventually completed the masterpiece in 1483. Artists have been working on the Sistine Chapel for centuries, the frescoes on the sidewalls predate Michelangelo’s ceiling. On the right depict scenes of the life of Moses and on the left scenes of the life of Christ.

That blurred foto!!

Sistine Chapel

The guards needn’t have worried. The photos I took were all blurred. Only one image of that ceiling was OK. 

Blurred anyway

After sitting for quite sometime contemplating whether I’d throw myself into the religious mosh pit in a vain attempt at inducing ecstasy, I decide against it. Its too hot. I slowly meander back. Somehow the way back is less treacherous. Or maybe I am in a serene state of mind. I do feel peaceful. Gazing out threw the large windows at the manicured grounds and beautiful gardens, bathed in soft light, I’m suddenly enveloped in a glow of warmth that I cannot adequately describe. Interesting.

Modern art in courtyard

The museums are included in the price, less crowded and surprisingly suffused in cathedral silence. The museums hold amazing treasures from Egypt, Iran and all over the world. Although I was never over wrought with rapture, the experience of the Sistine Chapel was wondrous and sublimely beautiful one. A must see.

www.vatican.va

Vatican grounds

 Extraordinary exit.