The Vatican

Paul scheduled an early tour of the Vatican so when we walked past the Colosseum on our way there were no crowds! On this trip we got to see the Colosseum at all times of the day! 

 The metro station is in front of the Colosseum.

Vatican Museum 

Vatican City is the world's smallest country--100 acres

It has it's own postal system, armed guards, beautiful gardens, helipad, mini train station, and radio station.

Barque of St. Peter

"The boat is a faithful replica of the ancient original Peter’s Navicella, a boat that was discovered at the bottom of Lake Tiberias, or the Sea of Galilee, in 1986. While this boat is not expressly believed to be the same one that carried Peter and the Apostles during the biblical narrative of Christ walking on the water and stilling the sea, it is the same type of vessel that is known to have been used at the time and is mentioned more than 50 times in the Gospels. According to See The Holy Land, radiocarbon dating placed the original boat firmly within the time of Christ’s life, between 120 BC and AD 40.

The original remains in Yigal Allon museum in Ginosar, in Galilee, to this day. The replica is a fully functional boat  – and was gifted to Pope Francis by a historic family of  ship builders, the Aponte family, in March 2023." aleteia.org

Commissioned by Pope Julius II in the early 16th century, the original staircase was designed by the famous architect of Tuscany, Donato Bramante, hence the name. This staircase was built in a square tower, created to link the Belvedere Palace to the streets of Rome, allowing Pope Julius II to travel from his private residence by carriage. The reason this was even possible was since the Original Bramante Staircase didn’t even have stairs, but was, in fact, a paved ramp. One of the true fascinations with the original staircase is the fascinating architectural structure, displaying a perfect double helix shape. This shape is commonly associated with DNA today, but as DNA was not discovered until well after the staircase was built, this staircase shape was very unusual. The real reason for this design was for in fact for convenience, as it allowed carriages to travel upon one path and down on the other at the same time to stop any interruptions. Nowadays, the original staircase is an exclusive destination, with only a few people allowed to see it in person.

The Modern Bramante Staircase

The modern Bramante’s Staircase, is, however, entirely open to the public. It is located in the Pio-Clementino Museum, marking the exit of the museum. The staircase itself is stunning, with many visitors looking directly down when standing at the very top to see the spiral design from a bird’s eye view. The streams of people descending the staircase only enhance its beauty, with the rich brown and gold creating a memorable piece. This staircase was designed by Giuseppe Momo in 1932, who used similar features to the original, including the double helix shape. However, it is not a ramp-like the original, with long stairs built-in for its visitors.

The dome of St. Peter's Basilica

Paintings Gallery

we didn't go in

Pigna Courtyard

"Its name is due to the huge bronze cone in the courtyard. The work, four meters high and two and a half wide, dates back to the second century and has a meaning of immortality and rebirth.
It is located on top of a double ramp staircase designed by Michelangelo."  vaticanmuseumsrome.com

Sphere Within Sphere

" by Arnaldo Pomodoro. Also in bronze, it is circular and much more recent since it was built between 1979 and 1980 and donated to the Vatican Museums in 1990.

The circular sphere of Pomodoro has a mechanism inside that with the wind rotates slowly."  vaticanmuseumsrome.com

Gregorian Tower

"Astronomical observatory in Vatican Museums, a tower that rises above the Gallery of Maps. Constructed in 1578 – 1580 in order to provide the necessary astronomical data for the Gregorian Calendar Reform. It was equipped with the best available astronomy instruments." wondermondo.com

Rome from the Vatican

Laocoon and His Sons

Sleeping Ariadne

Cabinet of Masks

Our tour guide showing us a toilet!

Our tour guide was an art historian and an employee of the Vatican.

Nero’s Bathtub

"The centerpiece of this room is the Emperor Nero’s bathtub. This was taken from his great Golden Palace or the Domus Arius which Nero had constructed back in 64A.D. Nero had his Golden Palace built after the great fire of Rome which some believe he was responsible for. The bathtub is made from a very rare and precious stone called Red porphyry and has a 43-foot (13-meter) circumference". vatican tips.com

"The ceiling in the Round Room is designed after the Pantheon, Rome’s most important temple dedicated to all the ancient Roman gods, although it is much smaller in scale." vaticantips.com

"The mosaic floor was literally taken up piece by piece from the ancient bathhouses from Ostia Antica which was the old port of Rome. The Floor dates from the third century B.C. and placed back down piece by piece in the 18th century. The mosaic floor tells the story from the battle of the Centaurs." vaticantips.com

Sarcophagus of Helena, mother of Constantine

Gallery of the Tapestries

The Gallery of Maps

The Ceiling

"Imagine having to paint a 393-foot (120 meters) long ceiling and decorate it with stucco and gold leaf. That’s exactly what Ignazio Danti set out to do in 1580 together with artists Cesare Nebbia and Girolamo Muziano.In three short years, they were able to finish not only the ceiling but even the side frescos. The ceiling is a mixture of saints, martyrs, apostles, and other important figures in Christianity.When you look up, you’ll notice that the order of the paintings was meant to be viewed from the other direction, since the frescoes will be upside down to you.What is even more remarkable is that the figures in the ceiling frescoes can be linked directly to the geographical positioning of the maps on either side." theromanguy.com

"As you approach the Sistine Chapel, you’ll be led through a series of hallways and galleries. One of the most impressive galleries you’ll visit on this stroll is the Gallery of Maps. It consists of 40 frescoes of maps, detailing the Italian regions and papal properties that existed during the time of Pope Gregory XIII. The frescoes were created by Ignazio Danti between 1580 and 1585." theromanguy.com

Map Of Sicily

"Many Italian-Americans can trace their lineage back to Sicily. When you look at the map, you’ll see all the major cities of this bountiful island. You’ll also see beautiful Taormina and the neighboring and still active Volcano Etna—it even shows some lava coming out of it on the map. Many people will walk past and never notice an extremely strange detail about the map: All of the cities are upside down! That’s because when Sicily was being painted, the pope asked that everything be arranged according to what it looked like as if you were looking at it from Rome." theromanguy.com

Room of the Immaculate Conception

Ceiling in the Room of Constantine

"Raphael started the  Room of Constantine in 1518/1519 and worked until his sudden death in 1520. His students and pupils finished the room without him and among those workers was the well-known painter Giulio Romano. These artists followed the indication of their late master with their own yet, never too different technique to create a powerful representation of the life events from the first Christian Emperor. " www.patronsvaticanmuseums.org

The Battle of Milvian Bridge

The Battle of Milvian Bridge shows the battle that took place on October 28, 312, following Constantine's vision.

"The first composition Raphael executed between 1509 and 1510^[7] was the Disputation of the Holy Sacrament, the traditional name for what is really an Adoration of the Sacrament. In the painting, Raphael created an image of the church, which is presented as spanning both heaven and earth". wikapedia.org

School of Athens fresco by Raphael

I don't know why I didn't take a picture of the whole fresco but only the parts as the tour guide was telling us about them.

"It is remarkable for its blatant pre-Christian classical orientation, especially considering it originally wallpapered the apartments of Pope Julius II.  Raphael honors the great pre-Christian thinkers--Aristotle, Plato, and company--who are portrayed as the leading artists of Raphael's day.  There's Leonardo da Vinci, who Raphael worshipped, in the role of Plato.  Michelangelo broods in the foreground, added later.  When Raphael snuck a peek at the Sistine Chapel, he decided that his arch-competitor was so good that he had to put their personal differences aside and include him in this tribute to the artists of his generation.  And the "school" building is actually an early version of St. Pere's Basilica (under construction at the time)."  Rick Steves Italy

There's Raphael looking at you!

I was a rule follower and didn't take any pictures in the Sistene chapel.  But our tour guide gave us these.

Moon rocks and a Vatican flag that went to the moon and back, carried on Apollo 11

Angels Unawares

by Timothy Schmatz

dedicated to the worlds migrants and refugees

St. Peter's Square

Our tour was supposed to include St. Peter's Basilica.  We were supposed to enter it from the Sistene Chapel. The the door to St. Peter's was closed because they were getting ready for an event with the Pope the next day.  We could have entered from St. Peter's Square but the line was really long and we didn't feel like waiting.