My first encounter with the Sistine Chapel was from the opening credits from the television programme “The South Bank Show”, the end of the opening sequence shows a close up of one of the focal points of the world famous painting. For some reason this fascinated me but I didn’t really understand the image and I am still quite uncertain of it’s meaning. Is it Man reaching out for God or the other way around? Only Michelangelo can say for certain. I was lucky enough to get to see this magnificent work of art in real life a few years ago when I was presented with an envelope on Christmas day and found that my girlfriend (Now my wife) had bought me a trip to Rome and had already arranged my holiday at work. The months soon flew by and at 4 am our alarm clock went off and I leapt out of bed and we headed off to the airport. Our hotel was a little way outside the city centre on a tree lined avenue, the approach and the hotel itself looked incredible but we were eager to explore so we checked in and made our way into Rome to take a look around. Even though it was early March the weather was
pretty good and much warmer than either of us had expected. When we arrived at the entrance to the Vatican we were pleasantly surprised to find that there were barely any queues so we took advantage of this and bought our tickets and made our way inside. It isn’t hard to become instantly impressed by the wealth of artwork on display. There are thousands and thousands of paintings, statues and tapestries all along the many corridors of the amazingly ornate building. Just as you feel you have seen the most impressive display you turn a corner and are faced with something even more amazing. Keely said she felt like she needed at least 3 heads to be able to take it all in. Eventually we were faced with the entrance to the Chapel and told that photography is strictly forbidden, they have security guards walking around the room to make sure that everyone complies so there isn’t any chance to try to take a sneaky picture. We spent at least half an hour looking at various different parts of the ceiling. We had a guide book that told us about different points of interest within the picture and what they were supposed to represent and it does make sense to actually break it down into sections rather than to try at take all of it in at the same time. As well as the Sistine Chapel we
managed to visit most of the places we wanted to see within Rome itself, St Peters Square, the Spanish Step, The Trevi Fountain and the Coliseum to name but a few but for me there was one place that I needed to visit. Where ever I stood in Rome I could see an angel with a sword on top of a building. It turns out that this place was the Castel di Sant'Angelo and on the last day of our trip we went to see it. I was a little wary about getting to see it up close but it was just as impressive as it was from a distance. Our Roman holiday was a mere 4 day break but it has had such a lasting impression on me and I need to visit again. I found the best Pizza I have ever tried, one of the best steaks I have ever eaten and a magical city that has history on every corner. We have thrown our coins into the Fountain so if legend is correct we will be returning to experience the delights that Rome has to offer again. Lets hope it is sooner rather than later
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