Many of the places or objects we viewed, or perhaps experienced, were hard to wrap one’s head completely around. Many of the things we experienced held so much history within their bodies that it may in fact be impossible to completely wrap one’s head around, To me, however, the most unreal viewing experience was during our optional visit to St. Peter’s Basilica.
The perceived perfection of every detail lined the Basilica coincided with the grandiose nature of the building itself to create an experience that is hard to encapsulate in words. It was as though I was entering a place described or depicted in a work of fiction rather than an actual physical location. I could not help myself from thinking about the wealth and power needed to build a structure of this scale and luxury. Being a sacred/religious place in some ways added to this thought as I began thinking about all of the horrible things that this body of power had carried out or justified over the course of its existence. This branch of thinking made me feel out of place and in some ways guilty as I became critical of the site which others held as one of the most adored places of their religion. I do think it is important to think about the power that the Church has held and in some ways continues to hold but I am not sure if the way in which I thought about the Basilica was the most respectful way to analyze the power of the Church.
It was probably the grandest and most beautiful building I have ever been in, yet there was something scary about these qualities, at least to me. It is frightening that there is a continued pattern of exuberant wealth and power being consolidated in small groups of people. This pattern seems to almost always end in suffering yet we still cling to the idea. This was my experience of viewing at St. Peter’s Basilica.
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