Italy 2006: Vatican City
Vatican City is a country within the city of Rome. While I spent much more time in Vatican City in May 2002, Joe and I did spend a few hours there. We waited in the long line to enter the Vatican Museums so he could see the Sistine Chapel (no pictures allowed), we sat in St. Peter's Square (no mass this time), and we visited the Tombs of the Popes below St. Peter's Basilica to find Pope John Paul II's tomb. Although we would have liked to enter St. Peter's Basilica and climb the steps to the dome and roof, the line was unbelievably long.
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St. Peter's Square   St. Peter's Basilica   St. Peter's Square   Sylvester Stallone  
Pope John Paul II   Vatican Museums courtyard   Vatican Museums  

The Swiss Guards have guarded the Vatican since Pope Julius II invitation in January 1506. Our travel book says their uniforms were designed by Michelangelo, but a Vatican website credits Raffaello's influence.
The colonnade of St. Peter's Square has 284 columns and 88 pillars in a quadruple row. I had read that if you look at the colonnade from a precise point in St. Peter's Square near the obelisk in the center, that you see just one row of columns instead of four. Well, I walked all around the obelisk and looked out at the colonnade but could not find the one place where the rows of the columns would disappear. I just don't think it is possible.
St. Peter's Basilica   Vatican Museums   Vatican Museums   Vatican Museums   Vatican Museums   St. Peter's Square  

We decided to enter the Vatican Museums without a tour or guide. A good tour or guide can enhance the experience so much more. There are so many different types of collections and so many different corridors to the museums. We had no information with us about what we were seeing through each long corridor and I could only remember bits and pieces to tell Joe. The museums are filled with so many interesting things that include tapestries, statues, paintings, and relics from past Popes.

We also found that when we entered the room for the Egyptian collection that instead of continuing on our path through the museums that the exit for the room took us back to the beginning of the museums!
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