The Vatican City is an independent state located in Rome, Italy. It is the smallest state in the world by area and by population. The Vatican is famous because it is governed by the Holy See, who is ruled by the Pope, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the bishop of Rome, and the Catholic Church leader. Despite being a remote location, there are many wonders you can discover inside the Vatican.
This is a great tourist destination for college students in the theology program as well as adventure seekers. Students can easily find time for that trip just find good service like writemyessay.ca to depute their home assignments. If you are looking to travel to the mecca of the Catholic Church, here are some places you need to visit when traveling to Rome, Italy.
1. Sistine Chapel
The Sistine chapel is known to be the official residence of the Pope. Its original name is Capella Magna or Great Chapel. The Sistine chapel got its name from Pope Sixtus IV when it was built between the years 1473 to 1481. The chapel’s purpose is mainly to facilitate religious activities such as celebrating mass and papal activities. This is also the place where the election of the new Pope takes place. Aside from the pastoral activities of the Catholic Church, the Sistine chapel is famous for the paintings that decorate its interior. During its erection, a team of Renaissance painters created frescos the showed the Life of Moses and the Life of Christ. These team of painters include Pietro Perugino, Sandro Botticelli, Cosimo Rosselli and among others. But the most famous among these paintings are the Sistine Chapel ceiling and The Last Judgement, which are both painted by the famous Michaelangelo. Arts students and enthusiasts will surely marvel in front of these pieces of the masterpiece.
2. Vatican Palace
The Vatical palace is also known as the apostolic palace. The Vatican refers to this place as the Palace of Pope Sixtus V in honor of Pope Sixtus V, who built this place as the Pope’s residence. This building contains papal apartments and official rooms for offices used by the Catholic church. The Vatican City tourism lets people see the different parts of the palace open to the public. But there are restricted areas in the palace the are closed to the public. For example, Cappella Polina and the Sala Regia are available to people a few times a year. Otherwise, there are closed to the public at all.
3. Borgia and Cappella Niccolina
Rodrigo de Borgia or Pope Alexander VI is the most scandalous Pope of the Catholic Church. The Borgia Apartments are suites on the Apostolic Palace for the personal use of Pope Alexander VI. In the modern type, this six-room apartment houses the different paintings of renaissance painter Bernardino di Betto. The six rooms are The Room of Sibyls, which contains images depicting the Old Testament. The Room of Liberal Arts. The Room of Saint where di Betto painted lives of seven noble saints. The Room of mysteries contains frescoes on the New Testament and the last two rooms, The Room of Creed and The Room of Pontiffs.
The Cappella Niccolina or the Niccoline chapel is the most ancient part of the Apostolic Palace. It is said Pope Nicholas V had it build as his chapel. It also included fresco paintings by Fra Angelico.
4. Pinacoteca
If you want to see more paintings during the Renaissance, you must visit Pinacoteca or the Vatican Museum. This museum has seven rooms that house paintings from the 12th century to the 15th century. You can view here works of famous painters made by Raphael, Titian, and Da Vinci.
5. Piazza San Pietro
Marked on the Vatican map is Piazza San Pietro or St. Peter Square. This is located directly in front of St. Peter’s Basilica. It is named after St. Peter, an apostle of Christ that is also believed to be the first pope of the Catholic church. First, an Egyptian obelisk is built in the center before the creation of the square. Then, in 1586, after 100 years of creating the obelisk, Gian Lorenzo Bernini designed the space that embraced its visitors “in the arms of Mother Church.”
6. St. Peter’s Basilica
The Papal Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican is known to the biggest church in the world by interior measure. This renaissance-style building is designed by Donato Bramante, Michaelangelo, and Gina Lorenzo Bernini, and it is the most well-known work for renaissance architecture. St. Peter Basilica is known to be the burial site of St. Peter, the chief apostle of Christ and first bishop of Rome. Here are St. Peter’s Basilica facts you may want to know if you are planning to visit this destination
- The St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican is the original church. Emperor Constantine builds the first one during the 4th century, where on the site, he believed St. Peter is buried.
- The paintings in the basilica are not painting but mosaics.
- Michaelangelo’s famous work the Pieta is shielded by bulletproof glass
7. Museo Pio Clementino
Also known as the Pio Clementino Museum, this museum houses sculptures from the original collection of Pope Julius II. This museum was named after popes Clement XIV Ganganelli and Pius VI Braschi, which aims to preserve antique works of art to study and understand them.
8. Vatican Necropolis
The Vatical necropolis is a famous tourist spot that lies below the Vatical city. Varying depths between 5 to 12 meters is an open-air cemetery and mausoleum started by Pope Pius XI, who wished to be buried closely to St. Peter.
9. Vatican Gardens
The garden of Vatican City or also known as the Vatican gardens is a private location found on the west side of the territory that the Pope owns. The park covers 23 hectares of the state, which is almost half the size of the land. It is decorated with Baroque era sculptures and fountains. Pope Francis opened the garden to the public, and you can roam around in the private area in small groups with a tour guide. This is also home to 17 Marian images revered all over the world.
The Vatican City is a small place but full of wonders. Dive into the past and ancient history by visiting this small part of Rome. Admire the architecture, paintings, and sculptures in once in lifetime opportunity.
