Vatican City and the Rest of Rome

Vatican City, although completely surrounded by Italy, is an independent country. It is officially called "The State of the City of the Vatican." It has its own Euro and issues its own citizenship and passports! As we had no idea where to start with regards to things to see, we decided to take an official tour. Our tour guide, Marco, sounded EXACTLY like the Count off of Sesame Street.....every time he spoke, I kept expecting him to bust out some counting and some cackling. One dead Pope.......two dead Pope.......ah ah ah ah.

Ok, anyways.....here is the gate we entered into the Vatican City......it led directly to the Vatican Museum.

A little more up close...

This is one of the inner courtyards of the Museum - the Cortile della Pigna. It was VERY green in here.

This is actually a globe done in 3D to show the spread of Catholicism throughout the world.......my dad and I , however, decided that it looked a lot like the Deathstar off of Star Wars and decided this must have been where Darth Vader came from....LOL!

We were not able to take ANY photos inside the Sistine Chapel so here are some from wikipedia....this is part of the ceiling.

http://www.lightmatter.net/gallery/italy/4_G

This was the coolest part of seeing the Sistine Chapel......getting to see "The Creation of Adam" in person! Very awesome indeed! :) (Yes, I did have to sensor the picture somewhat due to the location and the restrictions of the country I am currently residing in.)

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Creation_of_Adam.jpg

The hallway outside the Sistine Chapel.....I managed to snap a pic for the miraculous 30 seconds no one was walking down here!

The incredible artwork done on the ceiling of yet another hallway.

Bronze statue of Hercules

An enormous porphyry bathtub....

This place was HUGE and there was so much to see!

The famous Belvedere Torso

Here is our tour guide, Marco, showing us a display of various pagan gods.......I found it odd that they would house these in a church.

Another beautiful ceiling....

This is the Map Gallery - a long hallway lined with frescoed maps that were painted in the late 14th century. Very detailed and very accurate considering they are over 400 years old!

Onto St. Peter's Basilica! I have been to a lot of cathedrals in the past year and this one looked much like a lot of the ones I saw during my trip to Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Enormous marble carvings

Some famous floor grate that again has been used in a few movies....

Michelangelo's "The Pieta" - he carved this out of one solid block of marble in 1498!

The pic does not do this stained glass window justice! It was stunning!

It's hard to believe that those letters are about 10 feet tall....it gives you a bit of a better perspective as to how big this cathedral really is.

More beautiful marble carvings....

ST. PETER'S SQUARE!

Looking back at St. Peter's Basilica

Looking from the terrace of St. Peter's Basilica

A little closer....lots of seats set up for the weekly address made by the Pope.

All those columns in the background were pilfered from the Coliseum! There 184 of them in St. Peter's Square.

The Pope will address the public sometimes from one of these 2 darkened windows on the left side of the building.

A better look at the stolen columns and you guessed it.....another obelisk taken

from ancient Egypt!

Looking up at the face of the basilica.

The Papal Swiss Guard is the official security force for Vatican City...their uniforms seem really funny, but are the same as the traditional ones worn during the Renaissance. I liked the father's robe in this pic too!

I am standing with my left foot in the country of Italy and my right foot in the state of Vatican City! :)

St. Peter's at dusk...believe it or not, I snapped this as we were driving by in a cab! VERY happy with how it all lined up and turned out!

OTHER SITES...

This is the Piazza Navona......apparently a chunk of the movie "Angels and Demons" was shot here. I have never watched the movie, so can't verify that claim. This square was loaded with vendors and artists selling their paintings. :) The atmosphere in this square was awesome! It truly felt the Rome you see in the movies. :)

This is a shot of Sant'Agnese in Agone.....a bascillica built in 1657 over the place where Saint Agnes was martyred in the now Piazza Navona.

Another shot looking the opposite direction down the Piazza.

This is the "Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi" also known as the Fountain of the Four Rivers, sculpted by Bernini in 1651. It has yet another pilfered obelisk from Egypt in the middle.

Another famous fountain......I can't remember which one this is......there were so many! LOL

These are the "Scala Santa", or the Holy Stairs (also known as the Lateran Steps!) that Emperor Constantine's mother, Helena, brought back from Jerusalem as a relic in the 4th century. It is said that she brought back these 28 marble steps because they were the steps Christ walked up to see Pontius Pilate. After visiting Jerusalem in April, it was really neat to be able to "connect the dots" with regards to the history and sites I saw there with what I saw in Rome. :) This Helena sure traveled around and made grand attempts to save and preserve anything that was deemed "holy".

The front of St. John of Lateran Basilica...

....and the back!

This is Michelangelo's "Moses" in the Church of San Pietro

Another famous Bernini fountain, "The Triton Fountain" representing the half-man/half fish dude, Triton, blowing his horn to calm the waters of the sea.

As the sun began to set on our last day in the city of Rome, I realized there were some great pics to be taken as we were walking along the Tiber River.

Stay tuned for more pics from Sicily, Turkey and Greece! :)