Capri Heat by Ashe Barker

Author:Ashe Barker [Barker, Ashe]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ashe Barker Books
Published: 2018-05-23T18:30:00+00:00

*****

The Sistine Chapel was beyond wonderful. It was nothing short of breathtaking.

Given everything that was going on, Lee had not expected to be able to relax, to soak up the tranquil, timeless ambiance of Michelangelo’s masterpiece. Rafe had arranged for their tickets to be purchased in advance, naturally, so they were able to skip the queues out in St. Peter’s Square, the huge plaza in front of the magnificent St. Peter’s Basilica. The temperature out there was already topping forty-five degrees, so Lee and Lucia were grateful to be able to slip past the snaking line of tourists and religious devotees and enter the cool depths of the famous chapel. It was crowded, of course, but Lee was able to make her way to the centre of the towering space and simply tilt her head back to marvel at the exquisitely crafted scene almost seventy feet above her.

She visualised the great painter himself, one of the leading figures in Renaissance art, suspended from the rafters in some flimsy sixteenth century harness, painstakingly illuminating The Creation of Adam on the plasterwork above him. Did he ever get bored? Impatient? Was he ever tempted to just do a plain bit and get on with the job?

Of course not, and the results of his labours were stunning.

As an art history graduate, she was well versed in the history of the work. It took Michelangelo four years to complete the entire ceiling, and the work had been commissioned by the Pope himself, Julius II, if she remembered correctly. The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel changed the course of Western art and for over five centuries had been regarded as one of the finest artistic achievements of human civilisation.

Why did I wait so long before coming here?

Lee was entranced, utterly spellbound. Like most serious students of art, she had wondered at the old masterpieces, including The Creation of Adam. She had produced her own versions of the almost touching hands of God and of Adam, but her efforts seemed to her both paltry and crude in the face of the original genius. She consulted her guidebook, then moved to another section to peruse more famous scenes from the Book of Genesis. She reached the sanctuary wall where The Last Judgement, another of Michelangelo’s frescoes, loomed above her, magnificent in its quiet grace.

“Isn’t it fabulous?” she breathed to Lucia who stood at her side.

“Si, signorina. It is beautiful.”

“I suppose you’ve been here before?”

“No. This is the first time for me also.”

Lee turned to her companion, incredulous. “But how? Why? Surely every Italian schoolchild is brought to see these treasures?”

Lucia shrugged. “It would seem not, signorina. Perhaps in the same way not all British children have seen Stonehenge or the Crown Jewels. Perhaps we do not value our heritage enough.”

It was true. Lee returned her reverent gaze to the classical masterpiece which adorned the stonework above her. “We should. We really should…”

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