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TOTC - Vaticano

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.)


Piazza di San Pietro
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Vaticano was easy to reach by metro. After you got off, simply follow the crowd to get to the grand Piazza di San Pietro.



Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano
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The Basilica di San Pietro was an exquisite piece of art.



Statue of Jesus
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In the center of the Basilica was a statue of Jesus Christ, as it should.



Pope's Balcony
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This was the famous balcony where the newly elected pope would greet his people.



Statues
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Hundreds, if not thousands, of fine statues decorated the Piazza and the Basilica.



People Waiting for the Pope
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People started to gather in front of the Basilica di San Pietro quite early to get a front-row seat.



Vatican City Guard
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As a tourist, I was more interested in the fancy clothes of the Vatican City Guards.



Armed Vanticano Guards
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By "armed" I meant they had a piece of metal in hand. I hoped they had some more efficient weapon in case of emergency.



Papa!
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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?



Pope Standing
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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.



Pope Speaking
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Then he gave his speech on faith and peace in Italiano. His aides would read the whole speech in different languages as well.



Inside St. Peter's Basilica
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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.



Michelangelo: Pieta
Originally uploaded by yisu9
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.



Pieta with Cross
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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.



Statue of Saint Peter
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Walking inside, you would find this bronze statue of Saint Peter in a chair. I followed the "tradition" to touch his feet for blessing.



Statue of a Pope
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The Basilica was also the burial place of all popes. This imposing statue was on top of his tomb, I believed.



Coat of Arms
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Every pope had his personal coat of arms. This one featured a Celtic dragon.



Altar
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In the center of the church was the dark-colored altar.



Saint Longinus
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Four statues of saints surrounded the altar. This one was Saint Longinus.



Saint Helena
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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.



Ceiling
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This chapel was rather important as the ceiling was heavily decorated as well.



Names of Popes
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Now you could test your knowledge of Latin by reading this list of papal names.



Two Angels
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There were numerous works of art inside the church as popes used to be a big patron of art.



On One of the Gates
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I noticed this image of martyrdom (?) on one of the gates.



Gate
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This was one of the gates which opened only for special occasions.



Decoration
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You could find "papal decorations" outside the church, too.



God Bless Pedestrians
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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.



Tap Water Vatican Style
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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.



Musei Vaticani
Originally uploaded by yisu9
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.



Laocoon and His Sons
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Even I was walking in a hurry, I still had time for some highly recognizable objects like "Laocoon and His Sons".



In the Hallway
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This was one of the hallways.



In the Gallery of Maps
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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.



Raphael: The School of Athens
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Fortunately I stopped by the "School of Athens" for longer time.



Leonardo as Plato with Aristotle
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Probably the most famous fresco of Rapheal's, he took the liberty to paint Plato after a portrait of Leonardo.



Raphael as a Young Man
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Then put a mini self-portrait as a young man.



Michelangelo as a Philosopher
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Finally a tribute to Michelangelo as a reclining philosopher.



Michelangelo: The Sistine Chapel
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Now the wonder of the art world: the Sistine Chapel!



The Sistine Chapel 1
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No need for introduction. I took my shots in awe.



The Sistine Chapel 2
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The chapel was filled with (noisy, sweaty) people, taking pictures, of course.



The Sistine Chapel 3
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The Touch of God. And cut! That was it. End of my visit. Sorry I kept whining about it.



Staircase
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The spiral staircase was near the exit.



St. Peter's Square Panorama
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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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