Any tour of the Vatican Museum is worth the time and money. I was fortunate enough to take the “Waking the Vatican” tour which begins at 6AM sharp, when the doors are unlocked, yet the public is not yet permitted to enter.
Yes, those are the keys actually used to unlock all the doors. Of course, the museum holds artifacts from many eras of history, including Egyptian pieces like this tablet:
There are plenty of Roman objects as well, literally huge rooms full of them:
Including this magnificent sculpture:
And this bathtub of an empress:
Must have been a ladder to get in and out of that thing. More posts to come, showing the Hall of Maps and other marvels. Check back often!
The building itself is actually quite small and the rooms for clients tiny. On the walls were painted advertisements for various services:
A potential client need not speak the local language, simply point and agree to the price.
The clever Romans knew how to do business and seemed to have thought of everything. In the next post, we’ll take a look at a snack stand.
But going inside, one is very impressed. The photo below shows the sort of locker room with niches where bathers places their belongings:
Here’s a look at what was a sauna. The break in the wall shows the hollow space where hot air flowed to warm the room:
And here’s a look at an indoor pool, complete with skylight:
And another bathing area:
Of course there was quite a bit of decoration as can be seen from the ceiling show in the next image:
The Romans thought of everything for this facility. It must have been a pleasant place to get clean, relax, and have a chat with your fellow resident. Surely it was the precursor to today’s modern spas.
The Bent Page 
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