~The Vatican City~

The Vatican City, the smallest and the grandest country in the world. Here lies the irony!

Vatican Museum (Musei Vaticani)

We were told to get up really early that morning to avoid the queues to get into the Vatican Museum.

Basically, we still had to wait about 1 hour with our tour group before we got in but apparently that’s way less time than if we had gone on our own as a casual visitor. Whilst lining up against the back walls of the Vatican City, were were told that the Vatican Museums boast one of the world's greatest and finest art collections. It is a gigantic repository of artistic treasures , all housed in a labyrinthine series of lavishly adorned palaces, apartments, and galleries leading you to the Sistine Chapel.

Once inside we climbed a magnificent spiral ramp to get to the ticket windows (ticket is about 12 euros, more than worthy). Once you’re admitted, you can choose your route through the museum from four color-coded itineraries (A, B, C, D) according to the time you have (1½ -5 hr.) and your interests. All four itineraries will utlimately lead you to the Sistine Chapel.

I was so overwhelmed by the sculptures and the artworks that hit me in the next hour, I cannot recall which route we took. Basically, once you’re inside, everything that catches your eye is mesmerising. I am not even an art junkie and I could not help but appreciate the creativity and skill that went into those works.

Sistine Chapel (Capella Sistina)

My visit to the Sistine Chapel was extremely memorable.

Michelangelo considered himself a sculptor, not a painter. In his 30s, Michelangelo was told to work on painting ceiling frescoes in the Vatican. He laboured for 4 years (1508-12) over this epic task which resulted in permanent damage to his spine and eyesight. Michelangelo painted nine panels, taken from the pages of Genesis and surrounded them with prophets and sibyls. The expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden and the creation of man were amongst them.

He was in his 60s when he began the masterly Last Judgment on the altar wall. Evidence that Michelangelo was working against his wishes can be found in his jaundiced portrayal of human beings and their fate, in having God sit in judgment and sinners plunged into the mouth of hell.

On the side walls are frescoes by other Renaissance masters, such as Botticelli, Perugino, Signorelli, Pinturicchio, Roselli, and Ghirlandaio.

It was so beautiful ... I felt so empowered standing in that room ... it was an amazing experience.

Mum almost fainted (that's how packed the inside was) and we walked through a supposedly very special corridor – apparently visitors are not usually allowed in there as it is reserved for the Pope to travel from the Sistine Chapel to the St Peter’s Basilica in private.

As we walked out into St Peter’s Square (Piazza San Pietro), I was again overwhelmed by its sheer size. As you stand in the piazza, you’re surrounded in the arms of an ellipse partly enclosed by a majestic Doric-pillared colonnade. Atop it stands a gesticulating crowd of some 140 saints.

In the center of the square is an Egyptian obelisk, brought from the ancient city of Heliopolis on the Nile delta. Two 17th-century fountains lie on either of the obelisk. The one on the right (facing the basilica), by Carlo Maderno, who designed the facade of St. Peter's, was placed here by Bernini himself (you'd remember this if you read Angels & Demons); the other is by Carlo Fontana.

The sheer grandness of the whole place was a real eye-opener!

St Peter’s Basilica (Basilica di San Pietro)

The present basilica, built in memory of St Peter was mostly completed in the 1500s and 1600s and is predominantly High Renaissance and baroque. Inside, the massive scale which is almost too much to absorb, showcases some of Italy's greatest artists: Bramante, Raphael, Michelangelo, etc. This church is spectacular in its detail of architecture, marble, and mosaic. There is no room for sublety and you won't find anything but grandeur.

The first chapel houses one of the Vatican's greatest treasures: Michelangelo's Pietà. It shows off his genius for capturing the human form - pay special attention to the incredibly lifelike folds of Mary's robes and her youthful features.

There was a massive queue of people patiently waiting to kiss the feet of the 13th-century bronze of St. Peter.

Under Michelangelo's famous dome, resting on top of the papal alter is the exquisite twisty-columned baldacchino(1524) by Bernini.

Highly recommended is the climb to Michelangelo's dome, about 113m (375 ft.) high. The view over the city of Rome and the Vatican City is breathtaking.