Vatican City
03 July 2017
On our last full day in Rome (previous post) we spent the first half of day doing a tour through the Vatican City. Although it has ‘city’ in its name, it is actually considered a country within the city of Rome. It is about 44 hectares and has a population of 1000 including the Pope. It is considered an important place of pilgrimage for Roman Catholics.
We did a 3-hour tour through City Wonders and had a fairly well informed guide. When visiting the Vatican City there are only areas that the general public can visit, these are the museums, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica. The museums hold an incredible amount of art works and extends over 9 miles. Apparently, if you spent even just a minute looking at everything, it would take 4 years!
We had 15 minutes to spend in the Chapel and take in the amazing art by Botticelli and Michelangelo. It was quite annoying as there is meant to be silence – but many rude people couldn’t keep their traps shut. Also, you’re forbidden to record film or take photos in there, and the reason caught me by surprise.
In the 80’s the Vatican officials decided to undertake a comprehensive restoration of Michelangelo’s art in the chapel. The cost was so large they looked to outside finally help for the project. The Nippon TV Network Corp. of Japan won the bid which was $3 million but ended up costing them $4.2 million!
In return for the funding, they received exclusive rights to photography and video of the restored art. However their rights expired in 1997 but the Vatican Officials still have the rule in place.
After the Sistine Chapel we checked out St. Peter’s Basilica, which is the largest church in the world! Our guide walked us around and explained many of the artworks and relics. That concluded the end of the tour, but we then headed up the dome for a small extra cost. There were a lot of steps but the view was worth it! We spent the rest of the day hanging out in Rome before heading to Florence the following day.
