St. Peter’s in Rome is easily the most magnificent church that I have ever seen. The size destroys the observer's sense of perspective so the true size of objects are not apparent until you are next to them. The interior spaces are vast and every inch covered with the collected decoration of centuries. Here is collected and displayed the power and beauty of Christendom.
The massive tombs of Popes are dwarfed in these spaces, statues that would awe in lesser settings are humbled. The work of the greatest artists of history fill every corner. Paintings twenty feet high of incredible detail are found, on close examination, to be mosaics made of millions of tiny pieces. Made, like all else here, to defy the ravages of time.
We walk down one side of the Church, stopping every few feet to examine some new marvel. Descending to the rooms below the alter we examine the ornate tombs of popes and saints. I am most struck by the plain tombs of the lesser known Popes. These were men who attained the highest pinnacle of holy & secular power of their time, only to be cast into the shadows for all time by political chance.
The tomb of St. Peter is, of course, a masterpiece of medieval ornamentation. Golden sensors, candelabras, lanterns, candles everywhere, I only wish we would be allowed to enter the room down the incredibly ornate gilt stairs. We pause for a long while taking in the beauty of the place and it’s sense of history and air of holiness.
Another hour or so on the main floor and we begin to ascend the cupola. We pause at the half way point and stare down on the scene below. The distance is such that the people below cannot make us out clearly. There is a mass being sung in Latin at the main alter and I soak in this moment, these smells and sounds that might be today or three hundred years ago.
We continue up into the dome ascending ever narrowing stairs until we arrive at the very top of the dome and pass outside to find all Roma laid out below us.
St. Peter’s is one of those experiences that exceeds expectation, like the Grand Canyon, or your first kiss. I will treasure the time I’ve spent here always and will try to return, as my coin in the Trevi Fountain has promised.
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