Today we went to the Scrovegni Chapel and we had to catch a train there from Venice. The Chapel was extremely sacred so we had to dress appropriately-no shoulders or knees showing and we couldn't take any bags or take any pictures at all. We got split into three different groups because they only allowed 25 people to enter at a time. We only got to observe the interior for 15 minutes and the other 15 we had to sit in this room watching a video of the history of the chapel. Come to find out the reason behind sitting in the room for 15 minutes was to keep the temperature of the room a certain temperature to preserve the art. Pretty smart technique! Windows already let in sunlight that over time deteriorate art so the temperature from body heat can be the reason behind even more damage. But once we were inside it was amazing! Some of the damage was still pretty distinct but overall most of the artwork was pretty preserved. Being that majority of the trip we looked at religious art, I didn't get much excitement from it at first. However, I was fascinated by the way all of the Biblical stories were displayed. The one that was the most recognizable right off the bat for me was Jonah and the Whale. Pretty popular story and the image was pretty straight forward. But the wall that I may have stood in front of much longer than the others was the back wall that had the different perceptions of heaven and hell. SO MUCH CONTRAST! and the fact that it was easily recognizable made it even more mind blowing. Giotto definitely did his thing by making his audience want to reside in heaven rather than fiery hell. After all of the groups visited the chapel and everyone picked up their bags we had the option of going back to the Venice or going to Verona. Me and Mia were pooped so we decided to head back to Venice. Before getting on the train to head back to Venice we grabbed a bite to eat in Padua. McDonald's.. yes I sneaked a pic I had to get one to show to my manager. I work at one back home. The rest of the evening was spent relaxing and enjoying beautiful Venice at night. Mia and I just shopped in some of the nice stores.
