On a warm afternoon we toured the Vatican, a walled country situated inside the city of Rome. The country is governed by the Catholic Church and includes museums, a basilica, chapels, ceremonial spaces, offices, gardens, residences, restaurants, a bank, shops, post office, and a radio station. It uses its own currency, the Vatican-issued euro, and has its own security force, the Swiss Guards. For the first half of our visit to the Vatican we were part of a tour group and then we explored on our own.

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Grounds – We walked through several beautiful courtyards and well-maintained gardens before we went into the museums. 

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Museums – Five quick facts about the Vatican Museums: 1) Founded by Pope Julius II in the 16th century 2) Considered one of the world’s greatest art collections 3) Contain 70,000 works of art but only 20,000 are on display; art work includes paintings, sculptures, tapestries, and artifacts 4) Fifth largest museum in the world, including 54 galleries, 7 kilometers of halls and corridors, all in 43,000 square meters and 5) Visited by 6 million people each year.

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We were very impressed with the paintings on both walls and ceilings and many of them had been restored. Our tour guide explained the history and meaning of the more significant pieces, including the paintings by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel. We were awed by the vastness of his Last Judgement works on the walls and the nine large ceiling panels depicting scenes from the Bible. The ceiling covers 8,600 square feet! Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos inside the chapel. 

One of the formerly-used private papal apartments is named the Four Raphael Rooms because of his large, vivid paintings covering the walls and ceilings. We especially liked the School of Athens painting which depicts philosophers and scholars, including Plato, Aristotle, Euclid, and Pythagoras.

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Most of the museum gallery ceilings were also pieces of intricate artwork. It was tempting to take photos of every ceiling because they were so impressive. Below is a sample of the beautiful of these works.

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St. Peter’s Basilica – This is the world’s largest church. It is outside the walls of the Vatican so it is more accessible to visitors and locals. The interior is amazing and the word that comes to mind when looking at all of the grandeur and detail is Wow! Every arch and small niche is filled with detail and beauty.

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After spending quite a bit of time inside the basilica, we decided to go up the main dome. It was late enough in the day that we weren’t allowed to climb all 550 steps, so we took the elevator to the base of the dome and then climbed the final 320 steps. It was still a great cardio workout in the late afternoon heat and so worth the effort to experience such an incredible view of the Vatican and city of Rome!

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We were also impressed with the exterior of St. Peter’s Basilica. The Holy Door, the largest and most central entry point, is only used by the Pope on the first day of the Holy Year. The door panels depict scenes of man’s sin and redemption.

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St. Peter’s Square  – This square, one of the largest in the world, can accommodate up to 300,000 people. During the summer months thousands of locals and tourists listen to the Pope give his weekly Sunday address. We saw the many chairs set in rows and the large speakers for the PA system, closely supervised by local Italian police assigned to the square. And even though the constables seemed relaxed, we knew they were keeping a close eye on all of the people in the square too.

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