In last week’s exciting and informative article (well, I hope you read it, at least), we learned a bit about the Vatican City in general, and St Peter’s Basilica in particular.

Today, you get your ticket to the Vatican Museums.

The Vatican Museums

In this image, you can see the Vatican Museums, almost in their entirety. The art museum is to the left of that small dome in the distance, while the Sistine Chapel is under the roof at the extreme bottom right of the photo. In between those two are the vast Vatican Museums. What do you need to come away with in looking at this photo? The Vatican Museums are huge! There are three floors and two, long galleries that are a quarter-of-a-mile each…that’s about a mile-and-a-half of walking! So, don’t try to see it all…I’ll tell you below how to best view the tens-of-thousands of artifacts.

To see where the Vatican Museums fit within the whole of Vatican City, see the map included in last week’s article, here.

How to See the Museum’s Sights

I’ll cut to the chase and give you the answer on how to visit the Vatican Museum and St Peter’s Basilica: hire a guide.

On our first visit to the Vatican Museums in 2000, due to time constraints and not knowing about the whole guide thingie, we got off an overnight train to Rome, stored our luggage at the station, taxied to the Vatican Museum entrance, lined up two hours ahead of opening time (we were 8th in line), and then we raced non-stop to the Sistine Chapel all the way down at the end of the museum. The Sistine Chapel is all we saw (and we were happy with that). Next up was a very long walk back to the museum entrance, then around the Vatican City to Vatican Square and the entrance of St Peter’s. Phew! That was a lot of walking. The next time we went, because we set aside more time for our visit, we used a guide and had a much more leisurely and enjoyable time…including the use of the special door from the Sistine Chapel to St Peter’s. So, that’s the secret…hire a guide.

With a licensed guide, you can skip the line into the Vatican Museums, which we’ve seen snaking around for blocks on end, because on average, 20,000 people visit the Vatican Museums every day. With a licensed guide, you get priority access to the museums, at a time of your choosing. And of course, an added benefit is that you will have someone with you that knows what’s what, and where the secret doors are located.

How Long Does it Take?

A very long gallery filled with marble heads…and bodies, too

How much time do you want to spend exploring the Vatican Museum? Weeks? There’s plenty to see and a week wouldn’t be unreasonable. There are over 70,000 items and 54 galleries. However, I imagine your eyes would glaze over before even one day was over. A day? My feet hurt just thinking about it. How serious are you about spending a whole lot of time looking at marble heads, like those in this photo? I didn’t think so.

Do you like paintings? They got ‘em. Tapestries? Ditto. Marble heads? Well, you know they have those, right? Frescos? Un-huh. Collections? They abound…like hundreds of meteorites collected in Antarctica by Vatican scientist…go figure.

So, how do you narrow down all of this to fit your interest? Use your guides’ knowledge. And, how do you fit all of this into your Rome explorations, including your important visit to St Peter’s Basilica? Tell your guide how much time you have available so they can tailor your visit to fit it into your day’s itinerary. Finally, tell your guide ahead of time exactly what time you would like to start your explorations.

Finding Your Guide

So, where do you find these guides? You Google for them. Here are a few recent findings…but before you look at these offerings, be sure to look carefully at what they offer. For instance, is it just a timed, special entrance to the museums, and then you are on your own? Do they parla Inglese? Will they also be taking you on to St Peter’s Basilica? You get the picture, right?

ToursByLocals - plug ‘Vatican Museums’ into their ‘Search by Keyword’ bar and then choose a guide
Viator
GetYourGuide
Vatican Private Tour Guide
Vatican Guided Tour
etc.

Rick Steves - And then there’s Rick Steves’ suggestions…and his suggestions are based on his personal experiences. As he points out, there is a big difference with getting a guide from an international company like those above, and getting a private guide who works independently. So, give Rick Steves’ recommendations a look…and hope that he keeps that list up to date.

A Few Museum Photos

Even the staircases have art at the Vatican Museums!

Expect a lot of variety in the paintings of the museums.

There is even a very large, and very old, tapestry modeled on DaVinci’s ‘Last Supper’.

I think that this next one is a lot of fun. These little winged putti seem to be having a bit of fun as they march along a wall in the museum. That poor guy second-from-left is missing his face, or is that a pillowcase over his head. What’s that about? But, not to worry, his friends are guiding him, and there’s an extra face laying (or is it lying?) on the floor to the right.

This next one is really cool! Look at the sculptural relief…or is that a painting? Can’t be a painting, can it? Yep, it is, and it is an excellent representation of Trompe-l'œil. What’s that you ask? It’s an art technique that uses realistic imagery to create the optical illusion of three dimensionality. In other words, those shadows are very carefully calculated to create a three-dimension look.

Here’s a modern interpretation of Trompe-l'œil. It’s just chalk art on a concrete walkway, but it’s the perspective that makes it work. Looking from any other angle just won’t reveal the ‘look’.

And, let’s not forget painted ceilings. Not sure what that elevated scene is about, but she seems to be in complete control of the situation. You go, girl!

The Sistine Chapel

Speaking of painted ceilings, now to the penultimate…the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo didn’t really want to take on this project, as he was working on a marble tomb at the time…and he considered himself a sculptor, not a painter. But, we can be glad he acquiesced and took on the job for Pope Julius.

And, we can also be glad that the ceiling underwent a complete restoration at the end of the last century…before that, it was covered with the soot of five centuries of candle use.

First, here is what you would have seen if you had been there in around…let’s say 1970. It was a rather mono-chromatic, obliterated, mess.

Now, let’s see the difference that 20 years of restoration makes.

It’s an astounding change, isn’t it? Wow! And here is a bit of detail as we see the God-Man attempt at connection.

OK, here’s the deal. They ask that you take no photos. They also tell you to be quiet…and not in a very nice way. You hear a loud ‘SHHHH!!!’ intermixed with ‘No Photos!’ whilst you gawk at the amazing ceiling.

The fact that they keep shushing the crowd is indicative that no one pays much attention. Treat the request for ‘no photos’ the same way. Go ahead and shoot away. Just don’t use flash. I think the whole ‘no photo’ thingie has to do with selling the books with photos in the gift shop. And, as we haven’t been in the Sistine Chapel for 8 years, they may have completely given up on the ‘no photos’ thing with the advent of cellphone photography.

That’s it for the Vatican sights that we are allowed to see…the Vatican Museums and St Peter’s Basilica. If you have not already seen these amazing sights, I hope that you are able to do so whenever we can begin to travel once more.

Ciao for now…and please stay safe,

Steve

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“St Peter’s Basilica is the world’s largest church in the world’s smallest country.”

The Vatican is a must see…don’t go to Rome without seeing it. And, how best to see it? That’s a good question. Read on for the answer.

The Vatican

“The Vatican” is composed of four entities, as follows:

Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome…we can’t roam around there

Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the pope…we can’t go there, unless invited
St. Peter's Basilica…yes, we can, and should, go there
Vatican Museum…definitely go there

As mere mortals, we can’t just wander around the Vatican City. However, we can visit the Vatican Museum and St Peter’s Basilica…so, that’s what we will look forward to seeing.

When visiting the Vatican, it is recommended that you first visit the Vatican Museums, and then head to the Basilica. There is good reason for doing this, and that reason will be revealed in next weeks Part 2 installment. Also, I’m reversing the visitation order by giving you St Peter’s Basilica today, before we visit the museums, next week. I know, I know, you are anxious to learn the mysteries of Vatican visitation, but you’ll have to wait for next week’s installment to have them revealed to you. So, in the meantime, I give you the…

Vatican City Layout

Before visiting the Basilica, let’s look at the layout of Vatican City, and where the Basilica and the museums lay within.

In this map of Vatican City, I have outlined the Vatican Museums in blue. The museum complex is huge, with many artifacts that will be revealed next week. In the red, you see St Peter’s Basilica, fronted by St Peter’s Square. The square is a gathering place for the faithful to see the Pope when he makes an appearance, as well as a place to gather for many other Vatican-related events…it’s a beautiful venue. The areas shown in green are the parks of Vatican City…you can look from several vantage points, but, please don’t touch.

Though it is referred to as ‘Vatican City’, it is actually a country unto itself.

St Peter’s Basilica

Just a small bit of history today, but mainly photos of the interior of he Basilica.

Is it actually a cathedral? No, it isn’t. A cathedral must be the seat of a bishop…and this isn’t. Though the Pope is the Bishop of Rome, his cathedral is actually the Cathedral of Saint John Lateran.

The Basilica was consecrated on November 18, 1626. However, understand that it was a work in progress for 120 years. The Basilica is huge, at 720 by 490 feet, and with a height of about 450 feet. It’s the largest church on Earth…and maybe the whole Universe? We’ll never know! But, we know that St Peter’s Basilica is the world’s largest church in the world’s smallest country.

Because it took so long to construct the church, there were at least 8 architects involved over the years. Donato Bramante is credited with the plan, while Michelangelo was the chief executer of that plan.

You might remember that Christ said, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church”. After his own crucifixion (upside down at his own request, by the way), Peter was buried where the current church sits today…that’s why the Basilica was located there.

OK, let’s move on to see what St Peter’s Basilica looks like…here is the exterior, taken on a dark and stormy day whilst in Rome in 2012. One almost expects to hear dramatic organ music and to see lightening descending to strike the dome.

The stone work of the exterior is very…stone like.

And who provides the security for the Basilica…why the Swiss Guards do, that’s who.

Nice looking guys, right? Wouldn’t they look a bit more formidable with black outfits, weapons (other than a spear thingie) strapped on, and Kevlar vests? I think we might have seen someone dressed like this in a Cirque du Soleil show. Though I jest, they are a proud and capable group of dedicated Vatican guards.

When you enter through the massive doors, you are struck by the sheer magnitude of the Basilica’s size.

The baldacchino can be seen way down there…under the dome. Here is a closer view of the baldacchino.

To give you an idea of the size of the Basilica, the top of the baldacchino is 95 feet.

And speaking of domes, here is a view of the 136’ diameter main dome, with the baldacchino below.

Just inside and to the right as you enter the Basilica through the massive front doors, you find the magnificent Pieta. I wrote about the Pieta in September of 2015. You can see that article here.

Here are various photos that I have taken of the interior of St Peter’s Basilica.

See that female (yes?) figure with the bow in the bottom-left of the last photo above. In this detail photo below, you can see that these figures adorning the support for this small dome are mosaics. Don’t ask…I have no idea what the head under foot represents, or how it got there.

I will leave you with one, final dome (there are many within the Basilica)…not the main one, but an impressive one, none the less.

That’s it for our short visit to St Peter’s Basilica…well, almost. I need to share a humorous (maybe, maybe not?) anecdote…and a warning…about entering St Peter’s.

We visited St Peter’s in 2000, when the church was celebrating one of the recurring Diamond Jubilees (25-year anniversaries). The men in our group neglected to wear long pants (I have not taken shorts to Italy, since). We were stopped at the giant doors with, “Hey, you can’t go in like that…what do you think this is? A tourist site?”. Well, at 10,000,000 visitors a year…yes, that’s what I thought it was. There is a standing tradition of passing down, at the cost of $10, a pair of simple nylon pants with elastic waist…one size fits all. After coming out of the Basilica, there is absolutely no problem in holding them up and selling them to get your $10 back. So, be prepared to wear long pants, or to have $10 ready for temporary ownership of nylon pants. While we were waiting, two girls from Germany were stopped because of their shorts, so they stepped to the side of the massive doors, stripped down to bra and panties, reached into their backpacks, and then dressed in something more appropriate. Was that strip show less offensive than bare knees?

As I stated at the beginning, don’t go to Rome without seeing St Peter’s Basilica…it is a worthy, inspiring stop on your journey. You too will stand in awe at the magnitude of this beautiful structure. And, don’t forget that next week, you will understand how best to visit the Vatican Museums in Part 2.

Ciao for now,