Experiencing Italy: An Outstretched Hand, by Abigail King
Posted on: Apr 14, 2010
Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve traveled from a pazzo Roman neighborhood to the serenity and calmness of an Amalfi Coast ritual. Today, we are back in Rome and are experiencing the Eternal City through the eyes of world traveler and travel writer, Abigail King.
As soon as I read the invitation to write about my favourite Italian experience, a single image filled my mind. I tried to push it away, to sideline and sidestep it, searching my brain for a more unusual, more off the beaten track, more individual (let’s face it, more cool) Italian moment, but the unexpected thrill of an outstretched hand refused to fade.
So, to hell with it. I’m going to write about an icon, about something that sits smack, bang in the middle of the beaten track: the hand of God giving life to Adam in the Sistine Chapel.
I have to admit, I had fairly low hopes as I joined the queues that meandered and shuffled through the opulent corridors of the Vatican. Leaving religion to one side (you can choose which side), the postcard racks, bookshops, aprons, boxer shorts and all manner of tourist paraphernalia en route to Vatican City had almost smothered my curiosity.
Legend has it that Michelangelo himself wasn’t too pleased with the project, as he negotiated terms and conditions with the warrior Pope Julius II. Michelangelo regarded himself as more of a sculptor than a painter and felt dismayed at the scope of the assignment.
Painting the ceiling, a space of 12 000 square feet, took four years of backbreaking labour on self-designed scaffolding. By the end, a rainbow-bright fresco featuring prophets, the Garden of Eden and muscular, naked bodies caused a scandal at the time.
Today, it creates a human traffic jam.
Yet, no matter how many times you look at glossy books or high-res computer screens, nothing compares to seeing the Sistine Chapel with your own eyes.
At the centre, the fragile importance of someone giving life to another by reaching out to touch them describes a very human experience. One that extends beyond the borders of the Vatican or the rules of religion.
Perhaps that’s why four million people visit it each year – and why I’ve chosen it for this guest post. Even though it’s going to make me look so miserably uncool.
Abigail King is a freelance writer with a passion for art, science and travel. She blogs at Inside the Travel Lab and also writes for Cheap Weekend Breaks and MNUI Travel Insurance.
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There is nothing “uncool” about this work of art!
I agree with you! Plus the travel writing was so darn good!
.-= nyc/caribbean ragazza´s last blog ..SAID…A place in Rome for lovers of chocolate =-.
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I loved this post. You haven’t lost any coolness factor in my eyes, Abigail!
Agreed!
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You’re still cool in my eyes, too!
Ditto!
.-= regina´s last blog ..Ryan Air To Install Pay Toilets =-.
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Phew! So far, so good then.
Dodged a bullet there, eh?
.-= Abi´s last blog ..The Reluctant Tuscan =-.
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