Across the room he looked very much like the current 007. Close up it was definitely a statue of Emporer Claudius.
There was so much to take in as we trouped with hundreds of others around the many Vatican museums. The Pinacoteca or papal picture gallery drew us to a work by Melozzo da Forli (1438-1494) ‘Musician Angels’, part of a huge fresco taken from the church of SS.Apostoli.
In the Sistine Chapel we stood then sat for a long time. Michaelangelo’s vault was extraordinarily beautiful. The Sibyl of Delphi and the prophet Isaiah were particularly breathtaking.
I wonder how many people have pondered the gap between the loosened fingers of the Creator and Adam?
(image of Sibyl of Delphi from a photo of a picture)
canddaway's Blog 
All these images of cultural significance and historical importance show how lucky we are in Europe to live in a place where such artefacts are honoured, revered and protected. How unlike Syria, Turkey, Iraq and many other places afflicted by the poisonous, destructive vandalism of Islamic State. Today’s events in Brussels remind us that our lives, freedoms, culture and history are precious and vulnerable. We must cherish them and never take them for granted. And we must defeat the toxic darkness, the moral and cultural emptiness of radical Islam.
Ce soir, encore une fois, mon coeur est plein de tristesse. Mais je ne suis pas peur. Je suis ici ce soir a te dire – je suis belge.
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Bin there and dun it, exausting in heat! Beautiful paintings
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