Yesterday's Vatican Museum and Today's Capitoline Museums

As promised, I'm updating you on the on-site lectures from yesterday and today. Ok so yesterday I went to the Vatican Museums with my Baroque class and got to see a small portion of the massive and ridiculously impressive collection of the Catholic Church. I haven't yet been in St. Peter's Piazza where everyone stands to see the Pope but I did see the Sistine Ceiling! The Baroque lecture itself was, well, terribly boring. My professor has no charisma whatsoever. Anyway, here are a few pictures I shot of my trip and yes, even the Sistine ceiling and walls!



Entrance into the painting gallery



Raphael's Transfiguration which was absolutely incredible in person. This is technically part of the early Mannerism style.



The infamous duomo of St. Peter's Basilica



Many long hallways that were elaborately decorated and well preserved.



Sistine Ceiling!..... and my forehead...



The far wall's fresco. And Kate on the right.






After class Kate and I went to grab lunch at a restaurant right around the corner from the Vatican. They have fantastic salads. Definitely would recommend it to future travelers!







Now for today's on-site lecture! I won't have as many pictures because most of what I took is stuff I learned about in previous classes on ancient Rome and may not be all that interesting to everyone. So today we met at the Pantheon which I was so proud that I found al by myself and didn't get lost. It's actually a whole lot easier then I had thought. We spent maybe about a half hour lecture in there and it was FREEZING this morning so I was glad I had already taken pictures and able to keep my hands in my pockets. After that we walked down to the Capitoline museums in Piazza Venezia. Saw the huge sculpture pieces of Constantine and the original horseback sculpture of Marcus Aurelius which was really interesting to see for me. But what was the highlight was seeing the Forum from higher up in the museum. I can't wait to actually walk around in there. It's amazing to see it in person and know the background to many of the monuments and temples. Just incredible.





So far I like my classes. My Baroque professor, as I said earlier, is lacking in the interesting department. She's supposedly lived in Italy for many years but has a painful American accent in her Italian that she barely uses. My Italian Design professor seems to be ok. She has a strange accent that comes on randomly that I can't quite place but generally sounds American. My Early Renaissance teacher is my favorite. He's British and sounds like poetry when he speaks and makes wonderful use of vocabulary which I particularly enjoy. *Nerd*. And my Byzantine professor I just met tonight and he is quite intimidating but very well known. He's from Belgium and is a working Archeologist like my two professors last semester which makes the class so much more interesting when hearing them make connections to digs. But he's definitely serious about what he expects from us and so I'm nervous about that class a bit..

Anyway that's my little update for now. Tomorrow I have two on-site lectures and then i'm sleeping in on friday for sure!!!

Until then,

Ciao!!