Ever been in the Sistine Chapel?
I have, and it's awesome
shareMy wife and I went two years ago and actually got to see the chapel with the lights on. We were with a small tour group and our guide rushed us to the chapel as soon as we got through security so we'd get to the chapel before it got crowded. When we walked in she was in awe and told us we were extremely lucky because the lights are only on if maintenance is being done. She said she was going to shut up and we should just enjoy it while the lights were on because it wouldn't be very long. The lights were on for about 3 minutes. A couple people were working on a corner of the floor. As soon as they were done, the lights went off. The guide said it had been five years since she'd last seen the Sistine Chapel with the lights on. With or without lights it was a transcendent experience. Absolutely amazing. Didn't climb the steps of St. Peters, heights are not my favorite thing.
shareIt's beautiful, even though the Swiss guards were shushing everyone when there was no one talking anyway lol. Still, it's amazing.
shareI was there in 1987 when they were cleaning the ceiling. It was half finished. The contrast between between the uncleaned and the cleaned halves was amazing. Five hundred years of smoke from candles and incense left a much darker idea of Michelangelo's palette, when in fact his palette was more vivid as evidenced by the round painting 'The Doni Tondo', a round painting of the Holy Family done for Agnolo Doni to celebrate his marriage to Maddalena Strozzi in Florence's Uffizi Gallery. It is the only panel painting done by Michelangelo in his latter career as a painter to survive.
I could be a morning person if morning happened at noon.