Visiting the Vatican in Rome

Whatever sort of pilgrimage you are on in Rome, visiting the Vatican is undoubtedly one the highlights of the trip.

The Vatican really is a ‘city within a city’. At 0.44 square kilometres, it is the smallest state in the world, and although it famously has its own postage stamp, its currency is the euro and you passport can be left back at your hotel room or holiday apartment.

The focal point of the Vatican of course is the mammoth St. Peter’s Basilica and St. Peter’s square, an awe-inspiring oval shaped space designed by Bernini. History tells us that Saint Peter as executed here in 64AD, and in the 2nd century a sanctuary was erected in his honour. In the mid-4th century the Emperor Constantine built a basilica, though what you see today is the dates from the 15th and 15th centuries; a vast structure containing 11 chapels, 45 alters and two lateral naves under a majestic, landmark dome designed by Michelangelo.

As amazing as the basilica is, the crowing moment for many is a visit the eleven Vatican Museums that hold one of the most of important art collections in the world. Housed in a series of Renaissance Palaces, they hold a vast array of dazzling treasures that can often lead overload (it’s best to take a break after viewing each one). Works include luminous frescoes by Fra Angelico, Greek and Roman Statuary, Etruscan artefacts, ceramics by Picasso and paintings by DaVinci, Caravaggio and Giotto.

A visit to the museums ends at the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo’s most famous work and possibly the most recognised piece of religious art in the world. Over 300 figures relate the story of Creation in this exquisitely- executed fresco, a work that reaches divinity in the fragment where God stretches out his hand to Adam.