Saint Peter's Basilica

St. Peter's Basilica was until recently the largest Christian Church in the world and is the burial place of Saint Peter the apostle. It is very impressive and has the sculpture of Mary with her son Jesus in her arms after the crucifixion. It is titled The Pietà. Michelangelo completed this when he was only 24 years old. It is very moving to see this in person although it is now behind protective glass after being vandalized in 1972. It is quite large although you can't tell this from the picture. The creative genius of this man is so impressive!

It is immense and can hold up to 60,000 people. 

I know these pictures don't do it justice but at least you can see the immensity and grandeur of the basilica. If I ever come back, I would like to do the early morning tour before the main crowds and tours begin and take time to take it all in. 

The Vatican City

The Vatican is a city state surrounded by the city of Rome. It is considered the smallest country in the world. It is home to the pope  and a spiritual center for Roman Catholics around the world. The museum is home to an incredible art collection including the Sistine Chapel with the famous paintings by Michelangelo on the ceiling. ( pictures are not allowed in the chapel and talking is not allowed when in there, so no pictures for you but it is impressive ) This is where the famous painting of the creation of man, Adam, is found. It is so crowded everywhere you only see up when you are as short as I am.

Here are a few pictures for you:

We took a group tour to skip the lines: the long line of people are waiting hours to enter. We went right in, so worth the money.:

The famous Saint Peter's Square: everyone has seen this on T.V. or in a movie. It is much bigger than you think it will be.

A few of the sights we saw during our tour.

I will do one of Saint Peter's Basilica next but it was so crowded we didn't stay long. With few people it would be a place you could spend hours in. It is the largest church in the world.

As you've noticed we are continuing to blog to catch up with all that we saw and did on this adventure, so stay tuned.