Evil versus beauty

Today we visit the Vatican.

It is about twenty years since I last visited Roma and the Vatican, and it is amazing how time and your mind distorts your memory. I remember how awestruck I was then by the scale and I wonder whether the place will have a similar impact this time around. The other place we have on the agenda for today is the Vatican museo, which I remember as six hours of virgin and child followed by the Sistine chapel. I am also excited to see, hear and feel Susana’s reaction.

My views on the catholic church have certainly hardened over the years, and I now see them as a dangerous, criminal organisation who infect innocent people with their vile belief system and dogma, but that post is not for now, that is the next one. But expect a few comments slipped in!

We are currently commuters, lazy ones, missing the rush hour, but none the less, we travel in from the outskirts of Roma, into the centre, our job, to wander and blog. Double decker trains, we change once, it is only a twenty minute journey to St Peters Station. Apparently they have a single track line that goes into the Vatican.

So unusually for me a bit of history. Probably incorrect history, but here goes. The church ruled Italy for many years until 1861 and unification, whatever this was, but it seems that the Church no longer ruled Italy. It wasn’t until 1929 when Mussolini gave them the land which the Vatican sits on, before that they were homeless, maybe he shouldn’t have bothered. And the Vatican is the smallest sovereign state at just 0.44 sqkm. Some say it also has the worlds highest density of paedophiles but this is difficult to prove as the vatican has its own legal system! No you cannot say that, that was meant for tomorrows post.

We get to St Pete’s square. Lots of people milling around, but also a long queue for the basilica, now this bit I remember. We join the queue, which moves at a reasonable speed.

Coming to the vatican would have been one of my dreams as I used to be a strong catholic when I was young. Although I now know where I stand on my convictions I couldn’t avoid an overwhelming feeling when I entered the square. The scale, grandiosity and uniqueness… Now, this feeling could be exaggerated if you are a believer and make you feel you are close to god. I guess this has always been the intention when building such imposing buildings: playing with people’s emotions. SM

And there it is in all its glory.

The quality of the marble, the sculptures and the condition that they are in are incredible.

But it is actually really spoilt by the ill-conceived modern interventions.

The timber barriers are 2×4 screwed together. This is village craftsmanship, not for the catholic castle!

And the plastic chairs, second hand from some school, rusting and on their last legs, just disgusting.

You would expect that an organization which could afford to construct and maintain such an opulent us building could also afford to arrange more comfortable sittings for its 25,000 visitors it receives every day. SM

At look at the positioning of that screen, right in front of the sculpture, surely that is sacrilege.

And do you really want a close up of Ratzinger’s face, Oh no, he was the last evil monster, not sure who the nice new one is.

Back in the day, the popes really knew how to pick an artist to knock out a few sculptures for them.

And they are everywhere, and they are magnificent.

As we wait two nun’s pass who Susana informs me are part of the Missionaries of Charity – Mother Teresa’s Order –. Now I could really get started on the evilness of this bitch who condemned so many poor Indians (in every sense of the word) to an incredible amount of suffering for her own self promotion. But surely I am misinformed, everyone thinks she is lovely and soon to be canonised. Rethink and check out;

OK, OK it is so difficult not to rant. Luckily we are distracted by the Vatican porch, well the ceiling of it. Now that is a nice porch.

I find it really difficult – even when I was a believer – to reconcile some of the contradictions of the catholic church. On one hand, they preach humility, charity, and encourage you to give everything you have to the poor and the church. On the other hand, they spend millions on a site like this. And they still manage to convince millions of people that this is okay. This practise of conscious brainwashing still infuriates me after so many years. SM

But it is nothing compared to that one.

The shear scale of the place takes your breath away, and the opulence.

But I have never understood how the faithful square the eye watering excesses, the dripping of gold and other expensive material, with the message of christ. Wasn’t that about the poor, being humble, forsaking worldly goods and all that? Not much being forsaken here.

The hypocrisy is mindboggling, but the faithful buy into it. I just don’t get it.

It is not my taste, I prefer a simpler ceiling, but that is still one awesome ceiling.

Put my feelings aside, I have to admit that the place is absolutely beautiful. Not my style, not how I would spend my millions of euros if I had them, but the creativity, the design, the combination of the materials, the colours…Yeap, these artists have done a good job. SM

The place is packed, but the scale absorbs all the groups, individuals, couples and families. You could be walking around on your own.

They flock to the iconic, quick flash of the camera…too far away love, won’t make any difference. Move on to the next icon on the guides tour.

Do they actually stop to actually admire the beauty of what they are looking at. Now I am not a believer, you may have got that, but that is one nice bit of stone.

I would like to think so, but probably not.

I do not think beauty should be judged on how old it is, who made it, or what the message is. Somehow that is…just beautiful.

The text, the symbolism, the meaning….All this misses me.

Nice wooden thing in the centre. This is where they keep Pete’s remains. Now Pete is interesting. Apparently he actually knew JC, unlike Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. But Pete didn’t write about any of the stuff catholics consider important in their doctrine; the virgin birth, the crucifixion or the resurrection. The other four also all gave differing accounts and theirs were written without even meeting the main guy JC and it was several generations later without newspapers, emails, blogs or Wikipedia to check out the facts . Makes you think doesn’t it, makes you think this is all a crock of shit. Or maybe it doesn’t!

That must have cost a pretty penny, could’ve saved a few souls.

Quite proud of the composition of that one. Not many tourists compose their photos. Shot and run, onto the next.

Nice bit of thinly cut stone for the windows, maybe onyx, creates beautiful light.

You just cannot help looking up, towards heaven. Must be the purpose.

Damn those manipulative catholics.

The forms, the light, the colour.

There is very little of the macabre here,unlike many of the churches with scenes of hellfire, torture and general unpleasantness.

This however, just strange. The skeleton. Maybe a more mature approach to death here.

Speechless.

No mention of the Ratzinger, probably a bit ashamed of that one, oh I forgot, he ain’t dead yet.

Touch his toes and what? Good luck. Please, this is 2015. Can we bury this superstitious nonsense for good.

Nice oil.

And another

Nice marble.

Weird dead person. Ever heard of cremation?

Great space.

Nice fresco

And another

Bit more detail.

Could you get bored looking skywards? Not me.

But sometimes you have to keep an eye on the camera!

We moved on, and up.

We wanted to check out the cupola.

We are fit, and walking the stairs saved a couple of Euros. Only €5 each.

What a bargain. Now you can really appreciate the scale.

Creepy mosaics up here. A bit off centre, slightly closed right eye, all the same around the dome.

But what a view of the dome.

Carefully positioned leaf there. Again weird body, overly muscled. These priests have an abnormal obsession with naked children.

Those people look like ants.

The real impression, when you don’t stick the camera through the netting!

Still, we wanted to look from here some more.

But there is only so much time, and we had more stairs to climb.

We headed closer to god, we headed for the top.

Great views of the city, as you would expect.

Which also shows just how small the vatican is.

Nice gardens.

Priests must be really good at mowing.

One of the many discarded umbrellas from yesterday.

And that is part of the massive museum. We would be heading there next.

Quite green this time of year.

Amazing view of the St. Pete’s square.

Caged in to prevent that greatest of sins, suicide.

Quite crowded up here. Quite popular.

We were up there!

Wonderful lead work.

Some really can’t cope with stairs. You really need to exercise more love. There were two suffering while we were there.

Gold, gold, wherever you look.

The statues that overlook the square.

The rooftop, the cupula looks a long way up from here.

So you want to experience the dome of St Peter’s. Here you go in one and a half minutes;

One thing we missed inside

JP2, soon to be canonised (if he hasn’t already), for all those miracles that he performed since his death!

Laughable isn’t it.

I wonder where Ratzinger will reside when he kicks the bucket?

Probably not pride of place like JP2, maybe somewhere out the back, out of the way, hidden next to the wall, unmarked grave. Bit embarrassing the bad boy of popes was Razty.

For a whistle stop tour of the basilica, also in one and a half minutes, see here;

Here the tour end.

Gratuities welcome.

GDR