It was easy to decide which day I should spend visiting Vaticano among the three days I had for Roma: The day when the Pope appears! (In case you haven't known, the Pope speaks in public every Wednesday and Sunday, when he is not traveling.)
Vaticano was easy to reach by metro. After you got off, simply follow the crowd to get to the grand Piazza di San Pietro.
The Basilica di San Pietro was an exquisite piece of art.
In the center of the Basilica was a statue of Jesus Christ, as it should.
This was the famous balcony where the newly elected pope would greet his people.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of fine statues decorated the Piazza and the Basilica.
People started to gather in front of the Basilica di San Pietro quite early to get a front-row seat.
As a tourist, I was more interested in the fancy clothes of the Vatican City Guards.
By "armed" I meant they had a piece of metal in hand. I hoped they had some more efficient weapon in case of emergency.
Finally came Pope Benedict XVI! He circled around the audience on his papal ride, waving and smiling like a rock star. People were cheering and taking photos until he reached his seat in the front. By the way, "Papa" is Italian for "Pope". Cute, huh?
The program started with the fathers taking turns in different languages to announce the registered individuals and organizations who came to visit him. Each announcement ended with a sentence like: "... and all the English-speaking catholics wish you well!" Whenever their names were mentioned, they would cheer and/or stand up from the crowd to identify themselves. This went along for a long time.
Then he gave his speech on faith and peace in Italiano. His aides would read the whole speech in different languages as well.
I was in the audience for a while until I lost in translation. Since I'm not a catholic, I excused myself for some more touristy activities. After the Pope left, a long line was formed to enter the Basilica. Fortunately the church was so spacious that it didn't take a long time to wait in the line.
The first treasure was just around the right corner: Pieta by Michelangelo. This was probably the most enduring image of Pieta, the scene where Virgin Mary was holding the dead Jesus in sorrow.
This one gave you a whole picture of how the statue was situated. Once a crazy man approached the statue with a hammer and the people of Roma almost killed him. Since then a fence was established before it.
Walking inside, you would find this bronze statue of Saint Peter in a chair. I followed the "tradition" to touch his feet for blessing.
The Basilica was also the burial place of all popes. This imposing statue was on top of his tomb, I believed.
Every pope had his personal coat of arms. This one featured a Celtic dragon.
In the center of the church was the dark-colored altar.
Four statues of saints surrounded the altar. This one was Saint Longinus.
This was Saint Helena carrying the true cross.
This was a sculpture of four doctors of the church holding up Saint Peter's chair. Natural light illuminated the dove symbolizing the Holy Spirit.
This chapel was rather important as the ceiling was heavily decorated as well.
Now you could test your knowledge of Latin by reading this list of papal names.
There were numerous works of art inside the church as popes used to be a big patron of art.
I noticed this image of martyrdom (?) on one of the gates.
This was one of the gates which opened only for special occasions.
You could find "papal decorations" outside the church, too.
Having visited the Basilica, I wandered around the Piazza for more time. Only in Vatican City, a pedestrian sign with a circle of blessing around the person.
Even the water hose was decorated in Vatican style. Did I have some water from it? You bet!
I wasn't sure about this but it seemed to be the entrance of an administrative office.
As I mentioned before, the Musei Vaticani was one of the main reasons I came to Vaticano at all. I had as high expectations for it as for Lourve and Uffizi. However, I made a big mistake and missed a lot of things I would have seen. The problem was that there wasn't or I didn't find a clear floor plan for the whole museum, which was actually a combination of several museums. As I usually do for a big museum, I decided to visit the most important work first. Later, if time permits, I would visit other parts of it. So I quickly went through to see the Sistine Chapel, which was at the end of the long way. When I tried to go back, I found that they didn't allow people to go back anymore after certain point. I understood why they would have such a rule as some of the passages were really small and it would be a mess if backward flow of people was allowed. But I didn't understand why the rule was not clearly stated, or just a proper FLOOR PLAN! I was extremely disappointed.
Even I was walking in a hurry, I still had time for some highly recognizable objects like "Laocoon and His Sons".
This was one of the hallways.
It was called the Gallery of Maps. This was a drawing of the St. Peter.
Now in the Raphael Rooms. The color was impressively vivid.
Fortunately I stopped by the "School of Athens" for longer time.
Probably the most famous fresco of Rapheal's, he took the liberty to paint Plato after a portrait of Leonardo.
Then put a mini self-portrait as a young man.
Finally a tribute to Michelangelo as a reclining philosopher.
Now the wonder of the art world: the Sistine Chapel!
No need for introduction. I took my shots in awe.
The chapel was filled with (noisy, sweaty) people, taking pictures, of course.
The Touch of God. And cut! That was it. End of my visit. Sorry I kept whining about it.
The spiral staircase was near the exit.
Let me end this post with a panorama of the St. Peter's Square. (As always, click here for the big one.) Well, at least I saw the Pope.
Vaticano was easy to reach by metro. After you got off, simply follow the crowd to get to the grand Piazza di San Pietro.
The Basilica di San Pietro was an exquisite piece of art.
In the center of the Basilica was a statue of Jesus Christ, as it should.
This was the famous balcony where the newly elected pope would greet his people.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of fine statues decorated the Piazza and the Basilica.
People started to gather in front of the Basilica di San Pietro quite early to get a front-row seat.
As a tourist, I was more interested in the fancy clothes of the Vatican City Guards.
By "armed" I meant they had a piece of metal in hand. I hoped they had some more efficient weapon in case of emergency.
Finally came Pope Benedict XVI! He circled around the audience on his papal ride, waving and smiling like a rock star. People were cheering and taking photos until he reached his seat in the front. By the way, "Papa" is Italian for "Pope". Cute, huh?
The program started with the fathers taking turns in different languages to announce the registered individuals and organizations who came to visit him. Each announcement ended with a sentence like: "... and all the English-speaking catholics wish you well!" Whenever their names were mentioned, they would cheer and/or stand up from the crowd to identify themselves. This went along for a long time.
Then he gave his speech on faith and peace in Italiano. His aides would read the whole speech in different languages as well.
I was in the audience for a while until I lost in translation. Since I'm not a catholic, I excused myself for some more touristy activities. After the Pope left, a long line was formed to enter the Basilica. Fortunately the church was so spacious that it didn't take a long time to wait in the line.
The first treasure was just around the right corner: Pieta by Michelangelo. This was probably the most enduring image of Pieta, the scene where Virgin Mary was holding the dead Jesus in sorrow.
This one gave you a whole picture of how the statue was situated. Once a crazy man approached the statue with a hammer and the people of Roma almost killed him. Since then a fence was established before it.
Walking inside, you would find this bronze statue of Saint Peter in a chair. I followed the "tradition" to touch his feet for blessing.
The Basilica was also the burial place of all popes. This imposing statue was on top of his tomb, I believed.
Every pope had his personal coat of arms. This one featured a Celtic dragon.
In the center of the church was the dark-colored altar.
Four statues of saints surrounded the altar. This one was Saint Longinus.
This was Saint Helena carrying the true cross.
This was a sculpture of four doctors of the church holding up Saint Peter's chair. Natural light illuminated the dove symbolizing the Holy Spirit.
This chapel was rather important as the ceiling was heavily decorated as well.
Now you could test your knowledge of Latin by reading this list of papal names.
There were numerous works of art inside the church as popes used to be a big patron of art.
I noticed this image of martyrdom (?) on one of the gates.
This was one of the gates which opened only for special occasions.
You could find "papal decorations" outside the church, too.
Having visited the Basilica, I wandered around the Piazza for more time. Only in Vatican City, a pedestrian sign with a circle of blessing around the person.
Even the water hose was decorated in Vatican style. Did I have some water from it? You bet!
I wasn't sure about this but it seemed to be the entrance of an administrative office.
As I mentioned before, the Musei Vaticani was one of the main reasons I came to Vaticano at all. I had as high expectations for it as for Lourve and Uffizi. However, I made a big mistake and missed a lot of things I would have seen. The problem was that there wasn't or I didn't find a clear floor plan for the whole museum, which was actually a combination of several museums. As I usually do for a big museum, I decided to visit the most important work first. Later, if time permits, I would visit other parts of it. So I quickly went through to see the Sistine Chapel, which was at the end of the long way. When I tried to go back, I found that they didn't allow people to go back anymore after certain point. I understood why they would have such a rule as some of the passages were really small and it would be a mess if backward flow of people was allowed. But I didn't understand why the rule was not clearly stated, or just a proper FLOOR PLAN! I was extremely disappointed.
Even I was walking in a hurry, I still had time for some highly recognizable objects like "Laocoon and His Sons".
This was one of the hallways.
It was called the Gallery of Maps. This was a drawing of the St. Peter.
Now in the Raphael Rooms. The color was impressively vivid.
Fortunately I stopped by the "School of Athens" for longer time.
Probably the most famous fresco of Rapheal's, he took the liberty to paint Plato after a portrait of Leonardo.
Then put a mini self-portrait as a young man.
Finally a tribute to Michelangelo as a reclining philosopher.
Now the wonder of the art world: the Sistine Chapel!
No need for introduction. I took my shots in awe.
The chapel was filled with (noisy, sweaty) people, taking pictures, of course.
The Touch of God. And cut! That was it. End of my visit. Sorry I kept whining about it.
The spiral staircase was near the exit.
Let me end this post with a panorama of the St. Peter's Square. (As always, click here for the big one.) Well, at least I saw the Pope.
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