![]() ![]() The nightly lockdown begins: Gianni Crea at the central security station, Atrium of the Four Gates (Alex Majoli / Magnum / Vatican for The Atlantic) His father, Costanzo, had served Pope John Paul II as a personal bodyguard. Not unusually, Matteo represents a second generation with a Vatican calling. I would always be in the company of the clavigero and of another member of the staff, by turns Matteo Alessandrini, the head of the press office, and a colleague, Megan Eckley, both of whom I knew well. A few months ago, I got my wish: The Vatican Museums agreed to let me spend most of a night inside and to go wherever I wanted. But I had long wanted to experience the museums in a different way: to wander the four and a half miles of hallways after the doors close and to be there in the early hours before the doors open to explore the collection-the 20,000 sculptures and paintings and other works on display-as night settles over Rome and the galleries adjust to a quieter state of being. Over the years I had written about some of the museums’ activities, and on several occasions had met with the director, the art historian Barbara Jatta. I HAD COME OFTEN to the Vatican Museums ever since a first visit when I was in grade school. The key in the vault was the key to the Sistine Chapel. If Lewis Carroll had invented a nuclear-launch protocol for the Holy See, this might have been it. I opened the vault and found another key. He handed the key to me, gesturing to a tiny, unmarked vault in the wall of the bunker. He had picked up the key that morning from a command post at the Porta Sant’Anna, one of the Vatican gateways, and would return it shortly before midnight. The flap, now torn, bore his signature and had been stamped with the papal coat of arms. He kept a larger set of keys for himself, so that he and I could make our way anywhere.īefore leaving the bunker, Crea had taken a key from an envelope. On this night, when the last of the visitors had gone, Crea piled a tangle of keys on the counter of the security station, then handed out key rings to his staff. The screen gives the enclosure a quiet glow.Įach sector of the museum has its own large key ring, the kind carried by a jailer. Behind the glass, alongside a crucifix and a photograph of Pope Francis, a flatscreen presents live images from security cameras. At the glassed-in security station in the Atrium of the Four Gates, departing guards punch time cards. Behind them, here and there, lights begin to dim. Over the next two hours, until the exit doors are also closed, the last visitors proceed through the hallways. The heavy bronze doors at the museums’ main entrance are pulled shut every afternoon at 4 p.m. If you do this right, your ring finger should snap against the flesh of your palm immediately followed by your middle finger, making two quick (but separate) snapping sounds.Check out more from this issue and find your next story to read.Slide your thumb to your middle finger without letting up on the pressure, then quickly slide it to your index finger without pausing.Keep your middle and index finger close to it. Build up pressure against your ring finger.You must start on the ring finger - you can't do a double snap starting on your middle finger. Your thumb and ring finger should be pressed together, with your pinky folded down and your other two fingers lined up next to your ring finger. It's tricky to get the same level of volume with this technique, but getting the double snap sound itself isn't that difficult. When you've gotten the hang of doing one snap at once, try to make two. Keep practicing if you don't get it at first. ![]() If you're successful, you should get an extra-loud snap.Then, bring your elbow out and whip your hand down, turning your wrist so that your palm faces the ground. In one quick, smooth motion, bring your elbow in and turn your palm up.Your arm should be loose and relaxed from the wrist through the elbow. Turn your palm so that it faces to the side (in the direction of your torso).Press your thumb against against your middle finger (or ring finger, if you prefer), fold the ring finger and pinky down (just the pinky if you're snapping with your ring finger), and build up pressure. Be careful not to over-do the hand motions here - you can give yourself a sore wrist if you use too much force. Some people are able to get exceptionally loud snaps by essentially putting their whole arm into the snapping motion, snapping as they whip their hand down. Try shaking your hand to get a louder snap.
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