Vatican Museums

The museums, like everything else in Rome, are loaded....

The Vatican Museums house the most vast collection of art one could imagine.  We spent and entire afternoon, and still didn't see everything, but there is a point when one goes on overload, and you have to get away from the crush of people.  The Sistine Chapel is the highlight for everyone----I would love to go there when hardly anyone is there, but I have no clue as to when that might be.  

It was a great blessing, to be in the same chapel where the papal conclaves are held---and it was also jarring and, at times, hilarious.  One is supposed to be silent in the Sistine chapel.  But no one is.  

There is a microphone at each end of the chapel, and one is for the guy who yells at you in every possible language to be silent.  It works for about 30 seconds.  Then the noise builds and builds and builds until he yells at everyone to be silent again.  And on and on and on.  I think that I would hate this particular job.  

And there is more.... immediately after the guy yells at everyone to be silent, the guy on the other microphone yells at everyone to not take photos.  Of course, no one obeys him either (see below).  It's rather like Vespers---where one side of the church reads their part of the psalm, and then the other side reads theirs.  I think they should just give up----it would be less jarring.

But, it's good to imagine the cardinals all sitting there, talking about whatever they talk about, casting their ballots, and electing the pope.  If walls could speak.....

Photos:

1.  Ceiling of Constantine chapel

2.  "Crucifixion"--Salvador Dali

3.  Sistine Chapel ceiling