Italy by Rail - North to South (Part 8): The World's Smallest Country - Vatican City!!

- Dec. 28, 2017, Friday.

- One of the more peculiar countries I've visited anywhere in the world is perhaps the Vatican City. It is the world's smallest country by area (almost 0.5 sq.km.) and population (around 1000 people.) It is also the first enclave country that I've visited. Geographically speaking, an enclave is a territory that is completely surrounded by another state. In this case, the whole country of the Vatican City is surrounded by Italy - more specifically, surrounded by Rome. It is also one of the younger countries of the world, being independent from Italy since 1929. However, the legacy of the Vatican as a holy space has been established since antiquity.

- Today's visitors can access the Vatican, freely, from Rome by riding the metro to Ottaviano metro station, and following the street arrows to the Vatican; it was a less-than-five-minute walk. The country has two main places to visit: St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Museums (Musei Vaticani.)

- My family and I arrived at the Vatican around 9am. I could feel the holiness and serenity of the area since, well, there weren't a lot of people around that early. There are two main tips in going to the Vatican: if you wish to hear the papal mass and see the pope, go on a Wednesday (the cons, too many people), OR if you wish for less people to deal with, do NOT go on a Wednesday. We chose the latter as we wanted a to go around in a more (or less) relaxed manner.

St. Peter's Basilica. See? There' still no one around!!

Panorama.

Left: part of the entrance to the Vatican. Center: Christmas tree (yay!!) Right: Egyptian obelisk acquired by Caligula from Egypt.

- At around 10am, we headed outside the Vatican and went around the city walls to go inside the Vatican Museum. Now just like in many places in Italy, there will be people selling tickets and will help you "skip the line." But as I have been mentioning since the first post of this Christmas Eurotrip series, it always pays to buy tickets beforehand. Since I bought our family's tickets beforehand, it was easy breezy to get inside. (Just note that you have to follow the time you indicated on the ticket. If you missed your supposed time of entrance, then the ticket is as good as useless. It's better to enter earlier than later.)

Vatican museums at the back side of the city.

- The museum has a more than 500-year history (as of 2017/2018,) and has its origins with Pope Julius II and Pope Benedict XIV establishing a museum for Catholic art. Today, this museum is a labyrinth of overwhelming art -- and with an even more overwhelming crowd of tourists.

17th-century Fontana della Pigna at the courtyard.

Hall of Geography. This is one of my favorite ceilings in my Europe trip. 

I don't want to know what happened to her.

"The School of Athens" featuring Plato at the middle, by Raphael at the Raphael Rooms.

A replica of "The Thinking Man" by Rodin.

- Perhaps, the most famous attraction of the Vatican Museums is the 15th-century Sistine Chapel, with the frescoes painted by Michelangelo. The most prominent panel of the multiple paintings would be "The Creation of Adam" by Michelangelo (it's the painting with God and Adam touching fingers, and God is said to be in a floating brain.) Apart from Michelangelo and his masterpiece frescoes, this is also the chapel/room where new popes are elected. These are just some of the reasons why the chapel is significant. By the way, there is no photographs are allowed inside the chapel.

- After visiting the Sistine Chapel, I visited some galleries, like the Egyptian and Etruscan galleries, since I found these to be more interesting. Finally, on the way out, is the double-helix Bramante Staircase. However, this is the modern Bramante Staircase, being built in the 1930s. The original Bramante Staircase is not usually open to the public, and was used so the pope could go to his room while still being inside his carriage.

Egyptian gallery.

I always notice that Egyptian galleries in most museums I've been to anywhere tackle much about death (and mummies and all that.)

A very majestic room.

Bronze Etruscan weapons at the Etruscan galelry.

5th/4th-century Mars of Todi statue. It was almost life-size, and since it was a lot smaller than I was, people back then might have been that short too.

Etruscan bling, yo.

The earliest selfie.

The double-helix Bramante Staircase.

- It was nearly noon when we stepped out of the museum, and with some people who were in line when we got in....still in line!! (Again, purchase tickets beforehand!!) We were fortunately able to find a place to grab some lunch before going inside the country/city's walls again to visit the St. Peter's Basilica. It took us almost an hour in line before going inside. The line was long but it kept moving, so it wasn't too bad. I would also suggest going inside the church early in the morning to avoid the big crowds. There are no reservations for the church, and the church is free - unless you wish to visit some of the museums within the church, in which case you have to pay an entrance fee to those galleries.

The Basilica and the obelisk.

These are saints, but they remind me of the Olympian gods.

There are tiles like this one on the ground to tell you the direction of the solstice and the zodiac signs in the sky.

OC senses tingling.

Finally, on the way inside.

The Vatican's entrance (and the obelisk) from the church.

- Surprisingly, this 17th-century basilica is not the main church of the Roman Catholics, although its status as one of the most respected churches is undoubted. This is also the largest church in the world. The basilica is a wonder because many great artists worked on it, like Michelangelo - his well-known "Pieta" is displayed here - and if you're a fan of dead people like me, some of the world's popes like Pope John Paul II are buried here too. By the way, don't forget to take a photo of/with the Vatican's Swiss guards!!

Inside the main hall.

Michelangelo's Pieta.

Pope John Paul II.

The list of popes since time immemorial.

Creepy baby angels.

He is not a mannequin. He just looks like that. (Also, this is the winter uniform of the Vatican's Swiss guards.)

Can't get past them.

The moon came in early.

The papal residence today; this is where Pope Benedict says hello to the crowds and delivers some prayers.

- After visiting the Vatican City, we exited the country/city back to Rome through the main entrance and walked along the street until we reached the Tiber River and the towering Castel Sant'Angelo and its bridge, Ponte Sant'Angelo, in front of the castle. This 2nd-century AD castle, which used to be the tallest tower in Rome, was originally built as the mausoleum for King Hadrian and his family, but it was eventually used as a papal residence, a military fortress, and a prison. I loved the place so much that I should've worn a knight's armor (or a king's robes) so I could really feel being inside a castle.

I love how this castle looks. It's cylindrical, which makes it look semi-futuristic.

Front view.

Catapult inside.

Pone Sant'Angelo.

The moon rises.

I would love to dress up while walking around inside a castle like this!!

Prison/weapon storage.

This reminds me of Casa Manila in Intramuros.

Stairs and more stairs.

The original angel.

The armory has a lot of weapons, armors, and military costumes.

I am a huge fan of crossbows.

Hadrian's mausoleum.

Current Archangel Michael statue on top of the castle.

The Vatican City at the not-so-far back.

Panorama.

Palace of Justice (the white building.)

The big white building at the back is Piazza Venezia.

Another favorite ceiling.

Pope's coat of arms.

3D? No!! It's painted!!

Pope's bed.

The castle looks at lot better (and a lot mysterious!!) at night.

There are Roman ruins below this bridge, but just to be cooler, I imagine that there is oozing lava beneath.

The castle at night.

- I went back to the hotel that night thinking how cool it was to (technically) go between countries on foot in a day. As a Catholic (though not a strictly-practicing Catholic,) going to the Vatican was significant to me, and perhaps a "milestone" to my Catholic-ness. I don't know the pope's whereabouts when I was in the Vatican, but I've never felt closer to the pope in like, ever. One day, maybe, I would get to hear and appreciate the pope's mass in person - that is, I if I'd have the chance to go back. Otherwise, simply visiting one of the "holy lands" and learning more about the history and culture of my religion was a remarkable experience. (Also, I'd like to get myself one of those colorful Swiss-guard costume because I just like how those uniforms look!!)

- Please don't forget to ready about my other Eurotrip adventures during the holidays here:

France: Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here Part 4 here!!

Italy: Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, Part 4 here, Part 5 here, Part 6 here, Part 7 here, and Part 9 here!!