The Vatican

Trip Start Apr 15, 1981
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Trip End Jun 30, 1981


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Flag of Italy  , Lazio,
Thursday, May 14, 1981

A free day allowed me and some other cast members the time to visit the Vatican.  Another one of those places that everyone should see at least once in their lifetime.  The size of St. Peter's is astonishing as is everything about this place.  The architecture of the dome itself produced visual effects like I have never seen before nor since.  Walking through the throng that seemingly perpetually occupies the Piazza in front of the Basilica, we entered right where the Pieta has sat for hundreds of years.  The interior is extraordinary with all the naves, alcoves, altars and just the vast size of the place!  To the left of the main altar you can access stairs that lead to the roof that circles the dome itself and to balconies that look down inside the building.  It is from here that you get a true feeling for the immense size of the place.  From the floor looking up, the dome does not look to be all that high nor far away.  From the balconies looking down however, it is a completely different feel.  The people on the main floor look to be the size of ants!  The statuary and the construction tricks the eye in a most remarkable way.  The same can be said for the statuary that lines the rooftop as you look down on the square itself from the roof.
The Sistine Chapel is also something that must be seen!  It was awe-inspiring then, before the restoration, now I can only imagine!  I understand that it was previously thought that Michelangelo and Raphael had only used drab colours on this phenomenal artwork.  That is, until they cleaned off the soot and ash left by centuries of torchlight , candles and wood fires, and the true colours emerged.  It must be truly amazing now!
  No Flash!!  The security guards stand around all day intoning that, much to the chagrin of photographers hoping to somehow capture this place on film.  It's very embarrassing (right, Mary?).

The only major disappointment we experienced during the Italian Tour was the cancellation of our audience with Pope John Paul II.  Although we were introduced to the Italian President after a short show at the Presidential Palace, we had been really looking forward  to meeting the Pope.  John Paul II was well known for his support for youth initiatives and especially international ones.  While our advance team for Rome was working on our schedule for the Italian tour, they were contacted by his office to arrange a show and audience at the Vatican itself.  Shortly after our arrival in Europe however, he was shot.  A hospital visit was talked about but his doctors wouldn't allow it.  One of our cast members, Dan Popp from Yakima, Washington, did return to Rome with a subsequent cast a year later and they were granted an audience at the Pope's own request.  Dan was even wearing the Polish traditional costume the dancers used during the International Medley part of the show.  Their photo quickly found its way onto promotional material and the next album cover! 
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