The second attraction I went to in Rome was not exactly an attraction, but rather its own country inside of the city. I visited the country of Vatican City, ruled by The Holy See, and the central seat of The Catholic Church. I am not a religious man, and frankly I thought I would spontaneously combust upon entering such a holy place, but at least I got to check out some of the historical paintings and sculptures while walking through these halls. Just like my blog post of the Colosseum, this will be more of a collection of photos rather than me giving my thoughts about Vatican City, though I do have a few things I will talk about while you scroll down and check out my pictures.
You walk through the entrance and you are inside a massive building where you get your ticket and the tour guide starts showing you things and talks about the history of the Vatican and all that stuff.
The first time I get outside, I see this garden with manicured lawns and a fountain in the middle. Our tour guide told us that the Pope would sometimes go for a walk in this garden, but we did not have any Pope sightings that day.
Most of the tour of the Vatican buildings were through these long halls with paintings of religious depictions, sculptures of various heads and naked figures, and decorated ceilings of various detailed events. All of this was impressive, but many of these things were not anything I would ever understand. Also, the tour guide would explain the religious significance of many of these artifacts but they all went over my head.
I should also point out that touring the Vatican Museums in the afternoon was busy as there would be many tourists walking through the halls. Are the Vatican officials not afraid of any potential damages?
I occasionally found some respite walking through some courtyards or finding an open window to escape the stuffiness of the indoors. I guess air conditioning was one luxury too many for the residents of the Vatican.
We entered the Sistine Chapel, and there were numerous signs detailing the prohibition of taking photos and videos. As soon as you walk inside the room, there is a huge crowd with many people taking photos. Not wanting to feel left out, I did snap a couple of pictures of the ceiling, which is the most detailed and awe-inspiring painting I have ever seen. A loud "SILENCIO!" from an official in the room would occasionally cut the murmurs of the large crowd.
After walking through more long halls, we finally get to the main courtyard of Vatican City, and we end up in front of St. Peter's Basilica.
We were able to enter the Basilica, and I must tell you, this was one of the most impressive buildings I have ever been inside. The church is huge and adorned with marble and gold and statues and sculptures everywhere. I was under the big dome that you would normally see when you look at St Peter's Basilica from the outside. There were various masses and ceremonies at different parts of the church as well.
I got to see a member of the Vatican City Guards. Fun fact: the guards are Swiss Guards from Switzerland. The uniforms are quite colorful, to say the least.
I cannot complete an excursion without going to the gift shop, where you can buy tacky, expensive souvenirs. Vatican City had its own official gift shop, though there are many other gift shops just outside the border. The official gift shop had "authentic" rosaries and holy water, which is yet another example of consumerism being a central tenet of religion.
Anyways, that is what I must share regarding Vatican City. More pictures and videos below:
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