Vatican City
Vatican City is the world’s smallest country, even smaller than Manhattan, New York.
VATICAN - The headquarters of Roman Catholic Religion and Pope's residence is a fully independent City State in the heart of Roma, Italy. Vatican is bordered by Renaissance and medieval walls opening into the large Piazza San Pietro or St. Peter’s Square. This 0.44 square kilometers or 0.17 square miles, state was the result of a deal between the Pope and the Prime Minister of Italy, Benito Mussolini, in 1929.
This is probably the only country in the world with its own government, army and diplomatic mission but without any permanent native population.
Before we proeed further, be blessed by Pope Francis (Jorge Mario Bergoglio) in Latin: Franciscus, Italian: Francesco, born on 17 December 1936. The Pope is the 266th pope of the Roman Catholic Church. He was elected on 13 March 2013.
Pope Francis is a very jovial person, who when discharged from the Rome hospital after bronchitis treatment, said "still alive!", this at the age of 86!
There will be a lot of walking, so comfortable cushioned shoes are undeniably important. The entire tour takes anything from four to six hours, depending on the options you select and the crowds on that day.
Cappella Niccolina or Niccoline Chapel is in the heart of the papal palace. The name comes from Pope Nicholas V (Tommaso Parentucelli 1147 – 1455) who had this built. The chapel depicts the “Christian humanism” by Florentine painters. The frescoes wrap across the walls covering the ceilings.
Fiumicino International Airport [FCO] in Rome, Italy or Roma as it’s called in Italian is the nearest international airport connected across the world.
I will cover, more about Roma or Rome itself, in another picture blog with some good details and information.
Getting back to Vatican. There are numerous ways to visit the Vatican and see the entire beautiful, beautiful place from inside. This is indeed a MUST see in Rome.
Etruscan Museum – The 18 rooms are filled with items of art works, daily life objects like fine vases, funereal elements excavated from Tuscany. These artifacts reveal a different aspect of the afterlife of Etruscans.
The attractions in the Vatican St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Palace Highlights - (The Raphael Rooms, Appartamento Borgia, and Cappella Niccolina), Pinacoteca (Picture Gallery), Piazza San Pietro (St. Peter's Square), Museo Pio Clementino, Etruscan Museum , Museo Chiaramonti , Egyptian Museum , Vatican Necropolis, Vatican Gardens, Vatican Library.
Being one of THE most popular destinations in the world, there are tons of options to visit the Vatican. You can take a regular guided tour from a multitude of tour companies, small group tours, private tours with your own personal guide. The guides speak almost any language in the world, so you can get a guide in the language most comfortable to you. Most of the guides are very fluent in English and most international languages, so communication is not a problem at all.
On busy days or vacation times, the lines can be extremely long and you may have to wait much longer than usual. Which is why a private guide or at the least a very early morning small group tour is definitely worth the money spent. Try to get in as early in the morning as possible, whether in a tour or with a private guide.
Vatican Gardens – 1700 year old Vatican Gardens are ideal for spiritual meditation. These beautifully landscaped greens envelop about half the entire square footage of Vatican City. Manicured grass, plants, orchards, gorgeous flowers, rare trees make these the most varied gardens in Italy. There are separate tours for the Vatican Gardens. Vatican Garden tours are extremely limited or not available most of the time. You cannot venture freely in the gardens without a tour guide. Beautiful greenery but don't fret if you cannot visit, there's much more in Rome and elsewhere in Italy.
Museo Pio Clementino – The Vatican museums have the most collections of historical sculptures in the world. You may wish to check out the red porphyry sarcophagi of Constantine's mother and his daughter, Belvedere Torso, a first-century-BC work by Apollonius of Athens, mosaic floor of theatrical masks from the Villa Adriana in Tivoli, statue of Apollo Belvedere, lunette frescoes by Pinturicchio.
Egyptian Museum - Located in the Cortile della Pigna (Courtyard of the Pinecone), this museum was founded twice. Though not having vast exhibits, there are quite a few great Egyptian art to marvel at in the nine rooms. You can see the sarcophagus, God's and pharaoh's sculptures, hieroglyphic inscriptions, statutes, statuettes, papyrus, etc.
Museo Chiaramonti - Chiaramonti Museum gallery is a long gallery connecting the Palace of the Belvedere to the Vatican Papal Palaces and the New Wing (Braccio Nuovo). Chiaramonti gallery displays Roman and Greek art. It's named after pope Pius VII Chiaramonti (1800 - 1823). The gallery displays over a thousand ancient sculptures and Roman busts.
Vatican Palace - Raphael Room, Appartmento Borgia, Cappella Niccolina – The Vatican Palace’s papal apartments has a number of rooms, these are those which display beautiful Renaissance art paintings by Raphael. These rooms were assigned by Pope Julius II and Pope Leo X, both loved art. These paintings, mostly by Raphael and some by his students and other painters, were finished between 1508 and 1511.
Appartmento Borgia was a private residence of Pope Alexander VI. Pinturicchio with his juniors painted sequence of scenes with Christian subjects, prophets, Sibyls, Creed and Apostles, all in Renaissance themes.
St. Peter's Basilica - One of the two most important places to visit. The magnificent 16th - 18th century-built basilica has a huge 185 meters long and 46 meters high nave with a 119-meter-high dome. The right side of the St. Peter's Basilica has the famous Michelangelo's Pieta (The Pity), which is still a prized sculpture, even though it's now guarded by a reinforced glass. The richly decorated Chapel of the Sacrament is also on the right of the basilica. Above the Papal altar, four massive pentagonal piers hold the Michelangelo's dome.
Vatican Necropolis – Entombed popes in private chapels lie underneath the beautiful massive St. Peter’s Basillica. Burial grounds, including those of pagans, of 1st century BC have been unearthed much deeper in the earth. Here you can find the ancient pagan & Christian graves, stone crypts and arches. There is a possibility of Saint Peter’s gravesite to have been discovered which is being very carefully being excavated. These are not easily visited, understandably with a lot of restrictions, permissions and limiting the number of people.
Sistine Chapel - The other must-visit in the Vatican. The large rectangular hall and the Pope’s domestic chapel for services and some special occasions, was built by Pope Sixtus IV (1473 – 1484). A new future Pope’s pre-election conclave is held in the Sistine Chapel. Hundreds of extraordinarily beautiful frescoes adorn the walls and ceilings. These were painstakingly restored in the nineteen nineties. Michelangelo single handedly painted the frescoes on the ceiling depicting the Creation in Genesis. He created the stories from God separating light from darkness, land and sea, then creating Adam and Eve, followed by that of Noah and finally the Last Judgement.
The Sistine Chapel IS the most visited part of the Vatican and is always heavily crowded. There are a lot of different options to get into this highly coveted room, with private entries to “skip the line” type of tours.
Pinacoteca - Picture Gallery – Napoleon robbed many treasures, but there are still a lot of priceless ones in the 18 rooms of the Pinacoteca or the picture gallery, ranging from medieval art like Byzantine, Sienese, Tuscan, Giotto triptych, Umbrian, a Madonna, etc. covering from the 12th to the 19th centuries. These rooms exhibit beautiful huge tapestries and paintings, displaying some of the best masterpieces.
Vatican Post Office – Poste Vaticane is located on one side of the St. Peter’s Square. You can get beautiful mementos and greeting cards with Vatican pictures that you can mail / post right from the post office. This is the only place where you can get post mark of Vatican on your mail. Send one to yourself too, as a memorable souvenir.
Piazza San Pietro or St. Peter's Square is a massive square or a plaza right in outside the St. Peter’s Basillica. This spectacular square, designed by Bernini, can accommodate 300,000 people. The square encompasses 248 columns and 88 pilasters with 140 statues of saints on the columns. The 25 meter high obelisk in the center, manually carried to Rome from Egypt is flanked by two fountains.
Swiss Guard - The Vatican City has its own independent protection force, the Guardia Svizzera or Swiss Guards. They guard the Vatican and serve as personal escorts to the pontiff. To join, one must be a Swiss citizen, Roman Catholic male, unmarried, between 19 and 30 years of age, 5 feet 8 inches or taller, an equivalent of high school degree.
The Swiss Guard is a small armed force serving as the de facto military of the Vatican City. They were established in 1507 by Pope Julius II and remain the oldest continually operating military.
The Swiss Guards wear the popular colorful Renaissance era uniforms, with red, orange, blue and yellow colors during ceremonies. However, their usual uniform consists of blue doublets and blue berets.
The Guard carry traditional weapons like halberd, a two-handed pole weapon, pikes and swords. The Guard now also carry modern firearms and are trained in counterterrorism techniques after the failed assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II in 1981.
Vatican Library – The wealthiest place of knowledge in the world has an enormous collection of books, manuscripts, Gospels, Biblical codices, parchment manuscripts, scrolls and even coins and medals.
TIP – Wear very comfortable walking shoes. Lots of walking and stairs.
TIP – Cameras are not allowed in Sistine Chapel. Take a small scope, like a golf scope to look closely at the paintings in the high ceiling.
TIP - So, here’s an option if you are extremely short on time in Rome. In that case, you might want to visit only the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica. To get to the Sistine Chapel you do have to walk through the Vatican museums but there are special tours that can make this happen.
TIP - Do note that St. Peter’s Basilica is free, your payment for the “fast paced” tour is just for the Sistine Chapel.
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