Since the fourth century, Vatican City has been the heart and soul of the Catholic church. The city-state is located just west of Rome, across the Tiber River from the rest of the city. With its rich history and widespread influence, walking through Vatican City is like walking through time.
Because of limited operating hours, your first stop in Vatican City should be the Vatican Museum. As you approach Saint Peter's square, head to the right and follow the city wall around the back. The museum opens at 8:45 a.m. and a line forms fast, so you should try to get there early. Ten Euros buys you entrance to the entire history of the Catholic church, with a little ancient Rome and Egypt thrown in. For an additional fee, you can rent an audio guide, a priceless tool in the history-packed museum.
The museum is housed on two floors, consisting of two long corridors that surround two courtyards, with a variety of small rooms at each end. Depending on how much time you have to spend in the museums, you should choose one of the four color-coded itineraries mapped out inside the entrance.
Towards the entrance, the Pinacoteca (picture gallery) greets visitors with a collection of tapestries and paintings from the 12th to the 19th century. Included here are works by Italian masters, including Giotto, Raphael, Leonardo Da Vinci, and Bernini. This area of the museum also houses the Ethnological Missionary Museum, a collection of important cultural and archeological artifacts covering thousands of years worth of history from China, Japan, India, Oceania, Africa, and America.
The main building is two stories tall. Two central courtyards divide the building into two narrow corridors connecting a labyrinth of rooms on either side. On the first floor, one of the corridors houses the Vatican Library, and the other is the Chiaramonti Museum, Lapidary Museum, and the Braccio Nuovo (“New Wing”).The Chiaramonti includes a variety of Greek and Roman art and artifacts, including sculptures, sarcophogi, and architectural ornaments. The Lapidary Museum is a collection of around 5000 pagan and Christian inscriptions. Started in the mid-eighteenth century, the Lapidary Museum is the largest collection of its kind. The Braccio Nuovo houses a collection of sculptures taken by Napolean and returned from Paris in 1817. Another large collection of Greek and Roman sculptures are located at the end of the Chiaramonti in the Pio-Clementino Museum.
At one end of the Vatican Museum, near the Pio-Clementino Museum, the Gregorian Egyptian Museum houses a collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts, including mummies, statues, jewelry and sculptures. At the other end, the Borgia apartments dazzle visitors with frescoes of scenes from the bible, created for Pope Alexander VI. This area also holds the Museum of Modern Religious Art, which was opened in 1973 and features many modern American, French and Italian works.
Above the Borgia apartments, on the second floor, Raphael’s rooms were decorated by Raphael and his students for Pope Julius II. The rooms include frescoes depicting a variety of subjects in classic Renaissance style. At the end of Raphael’s rooms sits the Cappella di Nicholas V (Chapel of Nicholas V), a small room adorned with vivid frescoes by Fra Angelico, a revered Italian monk and painter.
On the opposite end of the second floor is the Gregorian Etruscan Museum. This collection of artifacts from the ancient Etruscans gives a glimpse into the mysterious civilization that preceded the Romans in controlling the Mediteranean.
Only one of the second floor corridors is open to the public, and it houses the Gallery of Candelabra, the Gallery of Tapestries, and the Gallery of Geographic Maps. This corridor is often overlooked in the rush to get to Michaelangelo’s renowned masterpiece in the Sistine Chapel, but it is worth time to have a look. The tapestries in the Gallery of Tapestries were designed by students of Raphael and once lined the walls of the Sistine Chapel. The Gallery of Geographic Maps is a geography-lover’s dream come true, lined with 16th century renderings of the known world.
The crowd begins to thicken in the Gallery of Geographic Maps, and it is almost a solid mass of people once inside the Sistine Chapel. Upon entering the Sistine Chapel, take note of the fresco on the wall of the entrance. The Last Judgement, also done by Michaelangelo, depicts judgement day, including Earth, Heaven and Hell during Armageddon. The other walls feature scenes from the lives of Moses and Jesus, frescoed by Italian masters like Botticelli, Pinturicchio, and Signorelli.
Of course, the Chapel's ceiling is what keeps people coming back. Painted by Michaelangelo over the course of about five years, the mural consists of nine panels. The first six panels depict scenes from Genesis, including the Separation of Light from Darkness, Creation of the Sun, Moon, and Planets, Separation of the Waters from the Land, Creation of Adam, Creation of Eve, and Temptation and Expulsion from the Garden. The last three panels depict scenes from the life of Noah, including Sacrifice of Noah, Flood, and Drunkenness of Noah. The Creation of Adam, in the center of the chapel’s ceiling is perhaps the most well known, with showing the touching fingers of God and Adam. Picture-taking is not allowed, but the vibrant colors will burn the Chapel into your memory forever.
After spending some time marveling at the sheer scale of the Sistine Chapel, exit the museum and head back towards Saint Peter's Square. An eighty-foot tall obelisk towers over the center of the square, and huge marble colonnades arc around the perimeter. The 284 columns are arranged in four rows, creating a perfect ellipse. On top of the colonnades sit 96 statues of saints, gazing down at visitors.
Of course, the crowning glory of St. Peter's square is Saint Peter’s Basilica, topped with a spectacular 450 feet tall, 139 feet in diameter dome. The world-renowned Swiss Guards, clad in their traditional blue and yellow striped uniforms, guard the entrance to the Basilica. Spend some time walking around the square, taking in the grandeur. Crowds of people gather here every Sunday at noon for the Pope's weekly blessing. He has appeared in the window weekly since 1978 to offer his prayers for the faithful pilgrims below. Also, keep your eyes open for student volunteers offering free guided tours of the Basilica.
As you climb the steps to Saint Peter's Basilica, you'll need to make sure your shoulders are covered and that your knees aren't showing either. The rule about no tank-tops, shorts, or mini-skirts is strictly enforced. The basilica itself is 614 feet long and 145 feet tall, but because everything inside is equally oversized, it doesn't feel as big as it actually is.
To the right of the entrance is Michaelangelo's famed Pieta sculpture, a giant depiction of the Virgin Mary cradling the body protected by a wall of glass since an attacker damaged it in 1972. The statue was repaired, but visitors are no longer allowed near it. Even from behind glass, it is easy to feel the sorrow represented in this marble masterpiece.
Continuing towards the center of the Basilica, Baldacchino, a 96 foot tall bronze canopy rises below the oculus of the dome. Created by Bernini in 1524, the canopy covers the Papal Alter, made from a plain block of marble.
On the left side of the Basilica, you’ll find entrances to the Treasury and the Papal Crypts. On display in the Treasury are various jeweled treasures, embroidered vestments, and even the giant bronze tomb of Pope Sixtus IV. Next to the entrance to the Treasure, stairs lead down to the Papal Crypts. This is where the bodies of past popes and other Catholic dignitaries are kept. Although dark and quiet, the crypts offer an atmosphere that is more restful than creepy; more somber than macabre.
Below the crypts are the subcrypts, accessible only by prior arrangement--This is where the remains of St. Peter himself were purportedly found, buried just beyond the Red Wall. Call the Ufficio Scavi at least twenty days in advance to arrange a tour of the subcrypts.
Heading back out of the Basilica, you can access stairs to the top of the dome. An elevator is available most of the way up, but long lines may urge you to try the stairs. The view of Saint Peter’s Square from the base of the dome is spectacular, but for the best view of Rome, head up to the lantern on top. From here, the city of Rome spreads out around you, only hinting at the glory that once was the Holy Roman Empire.
