After lunch our group was met by Eugenia, our guide to Saint Peter's Square and Basilica and the Colosseum. She was extremely knowledgeable about the history of Rome. We were given portable radios so we could hear her even when we were inside Saint Peter's Basilica. She told us that ancient Rome had a population of over 1 million in 210 AD, but declined to 30,000 during the Middle Ages. It's current population is 2.8 million. Rome is the 3rd most visited city in the European Union, after London and Paris, and receives an average of 7–10 million tourists a year!
St. Peter's Basilica stands on the traditional site where the Apostle Peter was crucified and buried. We had about a 45 minute wait in line before we got into the Basilica. The Pope had celebrated a mass that morning and we were seeing many other tour groups in the square.
In the picture below, you see Saint Peter's Basilica. To the right of the basilica is a building with a point on it - that is the Sistine Chapel. You cannot get there through Saint Peter's Square, it's about a 15 minute walk around the Vatican walls and was not included in our plans for this day.
In the descriptions of many of the tours we took, there were notes that said, "Cover your shoulders and knees to visit religious buildings." The only place that we saw this enforced was at Saint Peter's. This guy was wearing shorts and tried to enter with his own "skirt" made with two scarves. The guards did not let him get away with it.
I know I keep saying it, but this was another place that was huge. Eugenia told us that this is the largest basilica in the world. The letters you see in the picture below are over SIX FEET tall.
The church is 185m/610ft long, rises to a height of 46m/150ft in the nave and 119m/390ft in the dome, covers an area of 15,000 square meters/18,000 square yards and can accommodate a congregation of over 60,000.
Just as we walked in the door, we saw Michelangelo's Pieta. This is his first known sculpture and was created in 1498-1499. He was only 23 years old at the time. After its completion, many did not believe it was the work of such a young man, so he snuck in and signed it. It is the only piece he ever signed.
In 1964 the sculpture was in New York for the World's Fair. It sustained considerable damage on May 21, 1972 (Pentecost Sunday) when a mentally disturbed geologist named Laszlo Toth walked into the chapel and attacked the sculpture with a geologist's hammer while shouting "I am Jesus Christ." It has since been restored and is kept behind glass.
We stood about two thirds of the way back when Eugenia pointed out a place that marked the next largest basilica in the world. Nothing even comes close to Saint Peter's.
As our group wandered through the basilica, Les had our camera and decided to go closer to the altar to take pictures. That was the last time I saw him for about 30 minutes. We made our way out of the basilica and across the square. There was a shop that our group stopped at for a restroom break. I stood on the step of the store looking for Les... and looking for Les. Do you see him in this crowd??
Neither did I. Five minutes passed... 10 minutes passed... 15 minutes passed and it was time walk to our bus. Still no Les. Eugenia said, "I'm sure he's coming." Lee, who we ate lunch with said, "He's a bright guy, he's fine." All I could think was, "They told us to be careful of pickpockets in Rome. I have Les' wallet, his ID, all our money. All he has is his Sign and Sail card. What will he do if he misses the bus?"
I reluctantly and slowly made my way to the bus. Just as I was about to board - there came Les! He had been behind group #21 (we were 22) but could hear Eugenia on his radio most of the time. He, of course, was never worried because he was never lost! I was extremely relieved! Eugenia summed it up perfectly. She said to Les, "She must really love you, she was very worried." She was absolutely right on both counts!
Part 3 - The Colosseum, where I didn't let Les out of my sight!
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