February 23, 2018, Ponte Sant’Angelo and Vatican
Ponte Sant’Angelo and Vatican
My greatest joy in the morning was when I find out was no longer raining. I woke up at 4:30 AM, I took my camera and go towards Vatican. At 7:30 I had to meet with those who organized the tour of the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel.
There was plenty of time so I decided to take a stroll along Castel Sant’Angelo to see what I can do. Even without having a tripod, I took some pictures of which I’m happy with – I was going to visit the Vatican Museum and I did not want to have any issues with the security there.
I walked up to the Vatican and immediately went into the museum. For that day, I had two great goals: to photograph Giuseppe Momo’s famous spiral staircase and to sit for a few minutes to look at the Sistine Chapel ceiling. In the Sistine Chapel is totally forbidden to take photographs or video. I was told that the company that restored the painting granted the rights for 50 years and they do not want the Chapel to be photographed except with special permissions from them. For those interested, I purchased the ticket from Viator.com, is called “Early Access: Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museums Ticket” and the operator is “City Wander” for the Vatican Tour I recommend. The ticket cost £ 44.10 but it was worth it. The ticket includes the Sistine Chapel, the Vatican Museum, and then St. Peter’s Basilica without having to stand in line or pass security.
All targets accomplished for the day and even more, but I will let the photographs to talk about that:
When I left St. Peter’s Basilica, it was heavy rain rain, so I went straight to the hotel to get in shape for next day. For the next day I planned a visit to the Colosseum at sunrise and Ponte Sant’Angelo at dusk, but that time from a different angle.
Rome Day 1 – Vatican from Ponte Umberto I
Rome Day 2 – Galleria Borghese
Rome Day 3 – Ponte Sant’Angelo and Vatican
Rome Day 4 – Colosseum and Ponte Sant’Angelo
Rome Day 5 – A long walk on the streets of Rome
Rome Day 6 – Snow fell over Rome