Very few things in the world are worth the line that Il Vaticano has, or the rigorous covering of knees and ankles in this heat, but is undoubtedly one. After seeing the top and drinking it in, we held class at the overlook platform which is beneath the highest part of the dome. Here the lovely Allison taught us about the three types of columns (we observed corinthian before us), and we learned the legends of the crucifixion and discovery of the body of St. Peter. Although St. Peter's death is not in the Bible beyond vague references in the Gospel of John which seem to be mostly metaphorical ("when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and take you where you do not want to go"), the popular story is that he was crucified by Nero shortly after the infamous fire. As we learned the other day under San Lorenzo, the fire was started in the poor quarters of the town where the people, mostly Christians at that point, lived in unbelievably crowded quarters and often had fire problems. Although the hazardous situation of the insula, the tiny apartments, was common knowledge, Nero used the opportunity to blame the fire on the Christians, leading to Peter's crucifixion three months later. Traditionally, Peter has been said to have been crucified upside down because he did not feel worthy of dying the same way as Christ, and buried in the necropolis under the Basilica of St. Peter (which was built later). It has alaso been said that to take Peter down from the cross, the Romans simply cut off his feet rather than take the nails out. Then, in the 50's, an excavation under the Basilica found bones, sans feet, wrapped in purple. It is highly questionable whether they are really the bones of St. Peter, especially since another supposed tomb labeled 'Simon' was found in Jerusalem, and rumour of Peter's bones has cropped in many places, even England. Also, although they were wrapped in purple, the bones did not seem to be in any place of honor. However, I think the whole story is fascinating and it's nice how the idea that the first Pope's bones might be under the Basilica, especially coupled with a story of his heroic martyrdom, seems to really rally and inspire the Catholics who gather at San Pietro from around the world.
After discussing all of this, examining the gargantuan statues atop San Pietro (including St. John the Baptist holding a bazooka), and taking some very original pictures of ourselves as the Muses on a set of 9 stairs (what is that set of stairs doing there and where does it go, no archaeological excavation has yet answered), we went down to the Basilica, temporarily leaving behind Dr. Sebastian on a different elevator (I wanted to take the stairs back down but there didn't seem to be any). Down on the floor of St. Peter's, everything is bright and beautiful. I won't fall back into excessive gushing. This is an amazing building. We saw more bodies of incorruptibles, holy people whose bodies haven't decayed even if they died a really long time ago, which we saw the other day in Beata Anna Maria Taigi in Crisogono, but I only had time to barely mention because I was so excited about The Feminist Church. One incorruptible, whose name I did not brave the crowd to see, was dressed like Santa Claus. I thought this was noteworthy. And of course, we went to look at the remains of recently beatified Pope John Paul II, who had the biggest crowd in the entire church.
Anyway, there is priceless art of talent beyond belief all over this building, even in the random paintings and metalwork stuck in corners, but Michelangelo's Pieta gets a big shout out. Pieta is a general term for a statue depicting Mary holding the body of Jesus just after he was taken down from the cross. Michelangelo's is certainly not the only one, I wouldn't even venture to say the 'best,' but I think the reason she is the most famous is because she is so full of raw emotion in a way that one would think impossible for a marble statue. Every inch of the stone is carved to convey the crushing and overwhelming mix of grief, passion, piety, and prayer that Mary feels looking at her crucified son. Even the limp body of Christ in this statue is able to project a mixture of anguish and peace at once. I have always loved this statue and everything about her. She is the first thing that is going to un-lazy me enough to put a picture in this blog.
Another art shout out that must be said is, of course, Bernini's altar and baldacchino, canopy. They are both very golden and heaven-like and very fitting to the atmosphere.
After these adventures, some of our group attended mass, where Carlyn was accused of trying to perform voodoo of the Eucharist.
After Sister Terri averted that disaster with threats of mocking Vatican security, and a very exciting escapade at our local fruttateria that Allison and I shared, we held our second Saints, Poets, and Popes class. I have a whole separate blog/journal dedicated to that class, which won't make as much sense to those who aren't in it, but I will say here that I am enjoying it greatly and becoming very excited to see how the course progresses. Being a longtime fan of English classes, I would not have been happy to have left Rome without studying some ltierature as we are. I will end today with the suggestion that if anyone wakes up with a hankering for Medieval Franciscan angst, they should check out Jacopone da Todi, because he is both adorable and descriptive in a fire-and-brimstone Old Testament style. Also, important life lesson, don't live as a Catholic under the reign of Pope Boniface VIII. Just don't do it. He was really chummy with Dante, however, so that's cute...
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