Rome Trip (15-18 June 2006) - Part 3: Citta del Vaticano and Final Thoughts
As I mentioned earlier, Rome is a definite Christian stronghold, as seen by the numerous churches and a particular place which is surrounded entirely by Rome, yet technically NOT Rome: The Vatican City.
The Vatican City, or "Citta del Vaticano" in Italian, is the smallest sovereign nation in the world, governed by the Bishop of Rome or more famously known as the Pope. Unless you've been living in a jungle or stranded on some off-shore island in the middle of nowhere drinking coconut juice for months, you should know that the Vatican recently had a "change in management", which means that instead of the late Pope John Paul II, images of Pope Benedict XVI are now all over the place, including the stamps. Did I forget to mention that the Vatican has its own post office, bank, supermarket, railway station, power plant, publishing house and radio station, in addition to issuing their own coins (they use the Euro) and having its own Internet domain (.va). The full works, indeed!
The Vatican is also the only place where Latin is the official language, and you can even find the ATMs in Latin. Since it is an independent sovereign nation, it maintains its own security forces, comprising of the Vatican Police and the traditional Swiss Guard, who perform ceremonial guard roles. Citizenship of the Vatican stands at 555 as of December 2002, and it is interesting to know that because of this low figure, the crime rate per capita of the Vatican is actually the highest in the world! But that's just a numbers game.
The first view, St Peter's Basilica, the most beautiful church in the world
In and around St Peter's Square
A member of the Swiss Guard
As you get closer to the basilica
Just to give you a glimpse of about 0.05% of the visitors there that day
The view from the halfway point up the Dome
A wider view
A beautiful dome, painted by Michaelangelo
The most interesting stairway I have ever seen, walking exactly along the contour of the dome!!!
View of St Peter's Square from the top
The Victor Emanuel II monument
A giant Vatican coat-of-arms
Wouldn't be surprised if this is their radio station
View from the top
And yes, this is a postbox of the Vatican Post
The view of the dome I just climbed (it's 398 steps from this landing to the top)
And behind the statues of the 12 apostles
Following this was an elevator ride down to the bottom again, where you emerge in the great hall.
View of the dome from the very bottom
The grand hall of St Peter's Basilica
Inscription of the names of all the popes
The main altar
Statue of Longines
Statue of Peter the Apostle
This is the famous sculpture by Michaelangelo of Mary carrying Jesus after his death on the cross, it's protected by bullet-proof glass by the way!
The main hallway
After walking around the basilica and listening to the audio guide, it's time to go over to the Museum and the Sistine Chapel. No photos allowed in there, but I assure you the Sistine Chapel is worth the money to go in. The Raphael Rooms are not bad too.
Photobucket: Citta del Vaticano
Final Thoughts: So that's it for Rome, the eternal city. It's full of ancient artifacts and architecture, very friendly people and even friendlier pickpockets... It hasn't displaced Barcelona as my favourite place so far, but I think Switzerland will do just that. Nonetheless, Rome is still a must-go for any European tour, and much better if you go by yourself. Get the Roma Pass, it's really value-for-money if you visit museums.
The Vatican City, or "Citta del Vaticano" in Italian, is the smallest sovereign nation in the world, governed by the Bishop of Rome or more famously known as the Pope. Unless you've been living in a jungle or stranded on some off-shore island in the middle of nowhere drinking coconut juice for months, you should know that the Vatican recently had a "change in management", which means that instead of the late Pope John Paul II, images of Pope Benedict XVI are now all over the place, including the stamps. Did I forget to mention that the Vatican has its own post office, bank, supermarket, railway station, power plant, publishing house and radio station, in addition to issuing their own coins (they use the Euro) and having its own Internet domain (.va). The full works, indeed!
The Vatican is also the only place where Latin is the official language, and you can even find the ATMs in Latin. Since it is an independent sovereign nation, it maintains its own security forces, comprising of the Vatican Police and the traditional Swiss Guard, who perform ceremonial guard roles. Citizenship of the Vatican stands at 555 as of December 2002, and it is interesting to know that because of this low figure, the crime rate per capita of the Vatican is actually the highest in the world! But that's just a numbers game.
The first view, St Peter's Basilica, the most beautiful church in the world
In and around St Peter's Square
A member of the Swiss Guard
As you get closer to the basilica
Just to give you a glimpse of about 0.05% of the visitors there that day
The view from the halfway point up the Dome
A wider view
A beautiful dome, painted by Michaelangelo
The most interesting stairway I have ever seen, walking exactly along the contour of the dome!!!
View of St Peter's Square from the top
The Victor Emanuel II monument
A giant Vatican coat-of-arms
Wouldn't be surprised if this is their radio station
View from the top
And yes, this is a postbox of the Vatican Post
The view of the dome I just climbed (it's 398 steps from this landing to the top)
And behind the statues of the 12 apostles
Following this was an elevator ride down to the bottom again, where you emerge in the great hall.
View of the dome from the very bottom
The grand hall of St Peter's Basilica
Inscription of the names of all the popes
The main altar
Statue of Longines
Statue of Peter the Apostle
This is the famous sculpture by Michaelangelo of Mary carrying Jesus after his death on the cross, it's protected by bullet-proof glass by the way!
The main hallway
After walking around the basilica and listening to the audio guide, it's time to go over to the Museum and the Sistine Chapel. No photos allowed in there, but I assure you the Sistine Chapel is worth the money to go in. The Raphael Rooms are not bad too.
Photobucket: Citta del Vaticano
Final Thoughts: So that's it for Rome, the eternal city. It's full of ancient artifacts and architecture, very friendly people and even friendlier pickpockets... It hasn't displaced Barcelona as my favourite place so far, but I think Switzerland will do just that. Nonetheless, Rome is still a must-go for any European tour, and much better if you go by yourself. Get the Roma Pass, it's really value-for-money if you visit museums.
posted by Chiu Weng | 10:37 PM
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