Today was one long "wow" after another. It started at the Colosseum. (Or did it start with Starbucks quality coffee being served at the continental breakfast offered by the hotel?!) Our guide was very Latin and very passionate about the accomplishments of the ancient Romans on which we stood. There were tales of gladiators and beasts and naval battles, of emperors and senators and team owners or 'patrons.' The organization of the games was as impressive as the architectural world wonder in which we walked. Our exit took us through the Forum, the political and economic heart of the Roman Empire. We paid homage at Caesar's burial site and saw a Roman temple converted to a church. The size and grandeur stunned some of the students who could only imagine the way this district must have reigned over its inhabitants 2000 years ago.
Overlooking the 'playground,' or Colosseum floor where the battles were waged, the seniors pulled out the Ball High flag and snapped a photo. That purple and gold flag has traveled with us around the world and back ten times and shown up in the yearbook every year since 2006. The entire Ball High student and staff group squeezed into one frame in front of the 'wedding cake' government monument nearby, and then our guides had to back up into the street in order to photograph the entire squad of travelers in one great final picture.
Lunch was only scheduled for one hour, but not even a street-side cafe in Italy is interested in rushing the dining experience. Once underway, we crossed an international boundary and entered the Vatican. A four-story escalator ride toward a sun-drenched paned ceiling set the stage for what would be a mind-boggling two hours. (All of the students were wearing Whisper headsets and listened to the guide as we shuffled through. We were told it was not very crowded! When they saw our confusion, because everyone could barely move without bumping into a foreigner, they explained that 6 million visitors go through the Vatican every year. 35,000 on a busy day, 5,000 on the least of days. Today they estimated 15,000.) Every small step put us into a 360-degree realm of wonder and amazement: frescoes, mosaics, sculptures, tapestries, maps, tiled floors, gold-leaf ceilings, paintings...and then the Sistine Chapel. Too much to take in when only allowed to spend ten minutes inside. The lower third is painted with frescoes imitating curtains. The second third has panels of paintings by Italian masters depicting the life of Noah and Jesus. Michaelangelo's ceiling incorporates the ancestors of those two figures because his part of the project was the last to be completed. It was more meaningful because the guide spent some time explaining key aspects of the symbolism. Michaelangelo painted the ceiling when he was 63. He did the far wall ("Last Judgement") when he was in his 80s. It was the last work of his brush before he died.
Then, without delay, we crossed into St. Peter's Basilica, the center of the Roman Catholic Church. Seeing the Pieta, sarcophagus of Pope John Paul II, and the magnificence of the interior brought some to tears. There was a statue of St. Peter where many passed, touching his feet to pay their respects. Two mosaics there, copies of Raphael's works, were masterpieces.
As we exited, we saw the changing of the Swiss Guard who patrol the Vatican along with the gendarme. Travelers were able to purchase blessed items as a token of our experience or as a way to pass the significance on to a loved one.
We transversed an ornate bridge on the Tiber River while strolling back to the busses. It was a powerful day and a lot to take in. Exhausted again at the end of a long day, our tour guide announced that tomorrow we would be sleeping in an hour later before heading to the Catacombs. Amen!
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