I have studied in college for a couple of years so far and as the time passes – more and more I start to realize that education is the key in being successful In the future. Without higher education – It will be very difficult to get a well-paid job, job that you would like, and eventually “find your place under the sun”. I am really glad that my parents brought me up this way and in fact, they convinced me to study in college. Anyways, in high school you are completely blank on any intensions or certain goals whilst studying classes, after graduating - you start to understand that specific classes do influence your views on different things in this world.
Humanities have became an inseparable part of my marvelous journey of studying and determining my inner-self. Indeed, such studies as art, history, culture, literature provide a great help in terms of understanding and communication with other people. The study of humanities is not simply a course in college, it is an uninterrupted process and practice of self developing and broadening your outlook in life. Therefore, I do enjoy learning about different countries and other cultures and travelling. Actually, my family does share the same views on life and recently, we have visited the interesting city-state of Vatican.
Our vivid travelling group consisted of my mother, my wife, our two year old baby and myself. We arrived in Vatican on the 13th of May. From the moment we planned to go to Europe – visiting Italy with Rome and Vatican within it was in our top 3 list of countries we would like to visit. You would wonder why? Rome is the ancient city with the history of more than 2000 years. Furthermore, the fact that Vatican lies within the city of Rome is truly amazing! It’s area is close to 2 square miles! It makes this city-country the smallest one in the world. From the first day of our journey we decided to stay in Rome. Rome is the city of wonders! We have visited some places of interest that day: Museum of ancient history The Pantheon; we have been on Piazza Venezia – it is a famous square, place of intersection of the main streets in Rome, with the sculpture of Vittorio Emanuele II in the middle of it. Those are the places that really caught my attention, speaking of my Mom – she enjoyed the Colosseum the most. This place has been here for more than 2000 years and created for the purpose of cruel gladiator games (thousands of audacious men fought against each other as well as against wild animals). The atmosphere of Colosseum is something that you really need to experience in real life. That is how the first two days of our European adventure have passed.
On the third day we took a bus to Vatican. I knew that it’s area is something like 2 square miles but when you see it on your eyes it looks even smaller, it is really strange that this small city has been granted full autonomy and converted into the state. However, different factors have influenced it. But in my opinion the religious and political one played the major role. Nevertheless, the first impression when we have just arrived in Vatican was comprised of overwhelming collection of art that fulfills dreams, the ethnical diversity of people and enormous feeling of multiculturalism that penetrated this tiny country. I have never seen this much of people of different nationalities being gathered together in such small area. That was something new and interesting to me.
We have asked our Roman guide for some ideas on what to see and where to go in Vatican and it pretty much matched our list. The Gregorean Egyptian Museum and the Sistine Chapel were recommended first of all, hence, these were our points of destination with the top priority.
Our guide told us that this museum was founded in 1839 and most of the exhibits come from Ancient Egypt. We have been to all the 9 rooms that are present in the museum. Interesting fact that each of this room has it’s own chronological frames. For example The first one is devoted to Ramses II and Udja-hor-res-ne, those are the main statues in this sector, and the events depicted in this room concern 2600 BC – 600 BC. In my opinion, the most interesting rooms are 5th , 6th and the 7th one. Simply, because they are dedicated to the ancient Egyptian gods in a form of statues: God Thoth (depicted as a man that has an ibis instead of the head), he is one of the most important Gods in Egyptian culture, because according to our guide he stood for Knowledge and wisdom. Another interesting sculpture was of a Goddess Aurora – Roman goddess of the Dawn which is located in the 7th room. Overall, all of us did enjoy this museum excursion, there were a lot of interesting exponents to see and facts to learn, but we all agreed that impressions left by the Sistine Chapel was much more marvelous and mind blowing!
Sistine chapel located in the Apostolic Palace (official residence of the Roman Pope in Vatican), it was finished in 1481 and it is famous for the tremendous number of frescoes and mosaics. It is the most astounding place I have ever been to. The aesthetical value of the Sistine Chapel is immeasurable! It is based on the works of the artists of Renaissance era: Botticelli, Michelangelo, Perugino and others. It is impossible to describe this building without seeing it for yourself. While you are in Sistine Chapel you are surrounded by the greatest masterpieces ever produced. The most amazing part of it is the ceiling, painted by Michelangelo. It is a complex of numerous paintings that stand for the same theme: Human need in salvation, provided by the God. The most catchy one is the creation of Adam. We were amazed by the artistic techniques of Michelangelo and other artists.
Finally, this trip to Italy was unbelievable. It had a strong impact on all of us, it made us think about how past is connected with present and has influence on future. Another thing that we understood was that the Art is immortal. My interest in other countries with their cultures has just increased. All of us agree that this experience is unforgettable and we will surely do come back in a couple of years to see Sistine Chapel once again.
References
Egyptian Museum. (n.d.). VaticanState. Retrieved June 14, 2013, from http://www.vaticanstate.va/content/vaticanstate/en/monumenti/musei-vaticani/museo-egizio.html
Sistine Chapel. (n.d.). Musei Vaticani - Sito ufficiale. Retrieved June 14, 2013, from http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/CSN/CSN_Main.html
