Travels of Jackie and Randy: 6/2/22 part 2 - On to Rome and the Vatican

Shortly after we got to Rome we went to the Vatican. Our guide today was Matay, aka Matt. Nice guy.

A huge Roman wall surrounds part of Vatican.

And the famous dome can be seen for miles.

In one of the courtyards is a huge pineapple statue, flanked by peacocks. Hmm... It's an ancient Roman thing that used to stand near a temple, and it spouted water out of the top.

Inside, all the beautiful things. Starting with Laocoon and his sons. Sad but beautiful sculpture.

They have so many statues here that sometimes they just group them together by subject matter, like this room of animals.

I am so glad to get another look at the Belvedere Torso - half of it's gone and it's still amazing.

There is a big round room named "The Round Room". Statues surround the walls but they don't get much attention due to the huge centerpiece. It's Nero's bathtub - literally. It was taken from the palace he built after the great fire of Rome. Underneath it is an amazing mosaic.

And the Discus Thrower is here, a copy of a Greek bronze statue.

They also have a sculpture with the glass eyes that would have been very common when all these were created.

There are no words to describe the ceilings here; I can't even try.

Along the corridors the walls are often covered with huge tapestries.

Even the columns are decorated. I am not sure what these are supposed to be, but they caught my eye.

And the space over doorways is filled with great murals, like this one of the Tower of Babel.

One of my favorite things was a humble little suitcase that a priest used to give communion and last rites to soldiers during the war. I believe this man really served his people.