Self-guided tour of Rome: Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica. Vatican - where is the smallest state on the planet located? Vatican on italy map

The Vatican is one of the smallest states in the world. The city-state of the Vatican is located on the territory of Rome, it is the central object for all the Catholics of the earth. Here is the Holy See - the modern administrative body of the Catholic Church. You can list the regalia of the Vatican for a long time, for example, this is the only country where the official language is Latin.

Pio Clementino Museum in the Vatican

By the way, all the attributes of a secular state are present here - it has its own flag and coat of arms, there is a constitution, banknotes, as well as stamps, which almost all philatelists of the world dream of.

The border of the state of the Vatican City lasts only a little over three kilometers. On guard of the borders of the Vatican are:

• noble guard;
• palace guard;
• the gendarmerie of the Pope himself;
• Swiss Guard.

Most of the territory of the state is not accessible to tourists. By the way, it is impossible to get to the Vatican right away - there is no own airport (as well as a TV channel or its own operator mobile communications), so first you need to get to Rome. And the state of the Vatican itself is located right in the very center of Rome, and you may not even notice how you cross the border of the capital of Italy and this tiny state. To go to the Vatican you need or have any other European state.

Map of the Vatican showing the main attractions

No outposts, border guards or other distinctive features there is no border crossing.

It is impossible to obtain citizenship of the Vatican - only citizenship of the Holy See. By the way, this status is not possible to get in any other way, except for special deeds for the Catholic Church.

Less than a thousand people live in the Vatican - 842 people according to last year's data, all of these people in one way or another serve the church cause and are Catholics. There are practically no weddings here, the birth of babies is rarely celebrated - most often the Vaticans gather in order to bury one of the townspeople.

As already mentioned, there is no airport on the territory of the Vatican. The nearest airport in Rome receives international flights of Aeroflot and Alitalia, which are made daily.

Also in the Vatican there is a railway station, Roma San Pietro station. By rail, you can get to the Vatican from Rome and nearby territories, electric trains and trains run almost all the time, about five times in one hour. From the main station in Rome to the station in the Vatican - twenty minutes.

You can visit Catholic Mecca at any time, the mild climate of Italy allows tourists to enjoy the views at any time of the year. In July and August, the hottest here, the temperature is kept at thirty-five degrees, however, in relation to the Vatican, this statement is not entirely true.

St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican

The bulk of St. Peter's Cathedral gives tourists coolness, and the Sistine Chapel maintains a special temperature regime that is favorable for murals and frescoes. By the way, a beautiful Christmas tree is set up in the Vatican for Christmas, and the Eternal City during the Christmas holidays is the most pleasant place.

It is not possible to solve the housing issue in the Vatican, there are no hotels and hotels, so all accommodation options are only in Rome.

The capital of Italy can hardly be called cheap, so it should be borne in mind that high-level hotels will cost significantly more than in less popular countries. It is also impossible to eat in the Vatican - of course, you cannot die of hunger here, there are cafes at the museums, and there you can drink coffee with cakes or sandwiches.
Most often, tourists dine in Rome, and return to the Vatican for spiritual food.

Why go to the Vatican

Where is the state of the Vatican? For those who want to find the Vatican on the map or right in Rome, the white line will be a hint - it is the one that separates the Vatican from Rome along the outer line of the square around St. Peter's Basilica. In addition to the white line, part of the Vatican is protected by a high wall - this impregnable structure was erected a long time ago, more than four centuries ago.

A solid structure was supposed to protect the supreme Catholics from any aggression. The square is usually open to visitors, but it also happens that it is closed - usually these are security measures for holding solemn and official events.

What to see in St. Peter's Square

It is better to go down to the square from Sant'Angelo, the street of Reconciliation leads there from the castle - of course, the guidebooks scold it mercilessly, but only here you can enjoy one of the optical illusion effects.

Panoramic view of Reconciliation Street and St. Peter's Basilica

The fact is that the dome in the process of movement will gradually disappear - this is because the facade of the cathedral is significantly pushed forward. The square itself is a fascinating place, and there is a lot of interesting things besides the cathedral.

In the middle of the square there is an obelisk made of granite - an ancient Egyptian observer of the execution of one of the apostles (it is easy to guess that Peter himself), in the upper part of the obelisk you can see perfectly preserved fragments of the Holy Cross.

Bernini's colonnade is located around the square, and in the center, near the obelisk, there are circles indicating the geometric center of Bernini's building. If you stand in a circle, the colonnade becomes translucent - this is another optical effect of the greatest architectural structure.

On the right side of the square behind the colonnade you can see the Apostolic Palace. This is one of the funniest buildings in the Vatican.

The building of the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican

The fact is that the Apostolic residence was built without an architectural plan - each new dad, who sat on the throne, completed the construction of the palace of the Apostles at his own discretion. The first palace from the square requires special attention - in the second window on the right you can see the pope himself, who blesses all those gathered on Sundays at noon.

Guardsmen also deserve the attention of tourists. You can see them near the Bronze Gates of the Basilica, at the cathedral exit, behind the left side of the colonnade near the papal auditorium (the guardsmen are easily identified by their yellow, blue and red striped uniforms). Near the gate to Sant'Angelico, you can see the ordinary, undress uniform of the guards - blue tones.

The left corner of the beautiful square attracts many tourists, the Vatican post office is located here - tourists from all over the world send postcards with local stamps from here.
The square can also be visited at night - everything is well lit here.

Saint Paul's Cathedral

This is the second most popular among tourists Roman and, accordingly, the Vatican attraction. The first is the Colosseum. The doors of the cathedral are open from early morning until evening, tourists come here already at seven in the morning.

It is difficult to plan a visit to St. Peter's Basilica in advance, it is difficult to predict. Just going around St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican is enough for half an hour, if you pay attention to each sculpture, it will take at least two hours, and if you still pay attention to the treasury, climb the dome, visit the grottoes, then even a day may not be enough.
The treasuries display various relics, tiaras of popes, and many other treasures that will attract not only lovers of jewelry and history, but also those who are ready to admire the beautiful. There is also a memorial plaque with a list of popes who are buried in the cathedral itself.

By the way, it should be borne in mind that you won’t be able to see the entire cathedral - most of it is closed to the public. In order to see those parts of it that are interesting, it is best to stock up on a plan - it will indicate altars, chapels, tombs and other historical and cultural values.

Vatican Museums

The Vatican Museums are various museums and exhibition halls, the total length of which is nine kilometers. What will tourists see there? Traces of the culture of ancient and modern civilizations, mysterious statues of pharaohs and stunning mummies, the amazing beauty of Michelangelo's creations, Raphael's Stanzas and the unimaginable bust of the Pope with a red nose - tourists rub it.

The cost of visiting all the Vatican Museums (including Sistine Chapel) - 16 euros.

The Pinakothek deserves special attention, as it houses stunning collections of Byzantine and Roman art from the earliest stages of human history. The Vatican Pinakothek was founded at the end of the 18th century. Collection of works in different times adorned the papal chambers, until one day it was collected first in the Belvedere Palace, and then in a separate building, which was erected especially for it.

Belvedere Palace building

The Sistine Chapel used to be a house church in the Vatican, and the modern chapel is a museum of Renaissance art, as well as a meeting place for the conclave where the new pope is elected by the cardinals. The art of the High Renaissance, the Sistine Chapel receives about ten thousand people a day in order to show the stunning murals of Botticelli and Michelangelo, Ghirlandaio and Perugino hidden behind its walls.

Among the tiny states on the world map, the Vatican is of constant interest. Everyone knows that here is the residence of the Pope.

But, for questions about state structure, history, flag and coat of arms of the Vatican, most people find it difficult to give a correct answer. You have the opportunity to learn a lot interesting information about the smallest country in the world.

General information

The Vatican city-state is located inside - the city of Rome on the low Vatican Hill. For many, the Vatican and Italy are identical concepts. In fact, the Vatican sovereign state with a capital of the same name.

Some numbers and facts:

The Holy See makes decisions and governs the state. It is with this collegiate body that the missions of foreign diplomatic missions in the Vatican are accredited. Due to the limited area, all embassies and consulates are located in Rome.

The Holy See has established diplomatic relations with 174 countries over the years of independence. Vatican - member of many international organizations. The Pope is often a mediator in resolving international conflicts and always stands for their peaceful settlement.

On the territory of this enclave state there are masterpieces of world architecture and numerous museums. In the Vatican, you can see St. Peter's Basilica and the famous Sistine Chapel.

Flag of the Vatican, unlike most state flags other countries, has a square shape. The cloth consists of two stripes of the same size, white and yellow flowers. In the central part of the white strip are depicted two crossed keys under the symbol of power- the papal tiara.

The Vatican acquired its flag during the independence ceremony from Italy. It happened significant event June 7, 1929. Then Pope Pius XI was on the throne.

The emblem of the Vatican is full of symbolism. gospel motives reflected on the coat of arms in the form of keys given by Jesus Christ to the Apostle Peter.

What does the coat of arms of the Vatican look like? On the red shield are two crossed keys: silver and gold. The keys are tied with blue or red cord. Above the keys is the papal tiara.

Vatican exists through charitable contributions to the state treasury from Christians various countries and income from the tourism business. Every year, the city-state is visited by millions of tourists and pilgrims who come to bow to the Pope and listen to his Sunday sermon.

It is no less interesting to find out who built it, and how many people could fit in it. Interesting Facts about the Colosseum - the symbol of Italy.

How many people do you think live in dwarf San Marino and what is its capital? As well as other answers on the pages of our site.

Vatican on the world map

With the power of the Internet, you can see detailed map Vatican. Wonderful corners and architectural masterpieces more than enough in such a tiny area.

State history

During the Roman Empire, there were no settlements and cities on the territory of the modern Vatican. The Romans considered this place holy. During the reign of Emperor Claudius, circus games were held on the Vatican Hill.

Since the spread of Christianity in Europe at the site of the alleged burial of the Apostle Peter the majestic basilica of Constantine was built. 326 was the beginning of the history of the Vatican.

To 8th century numerous settlements were united in the papal state, which occupied a significant part of the territory of the Apennine Peninsula. But, the Vatican could not save its own territories. In 1870, the Italian kingdom brought the Vatican under its control.

Papal state gained independence after the Lutheran Accords imprisoned by Benito Mussolini in 1929. Since then, the boundaries and structure of the Vatican have not changed.

Geography and population

The Vatican is located 20 km from the shores of the Tyrrhenian Sea in the center of the Apennine Peninsula. vatican hill located in the northwestern part of Rome on the right bank of the Tiber River. The picturesque gardens of the Vatican are laid out on the gentle part of the hill.

On all sides, the papal state borders only on Italy. Geographical coordinates: 42° north latitude and 12° east longitude.

The border of the dwarf state marked by a defensive wall. The entrance to the Vatican is through six gates.

Peter's Square formally belongs to the Vatican, but the Italian police maintain order on it. The borders of the Vatican are guarded by the Swiss Guard and the gendarmerie, subordinate to the Pontiff.

The tiny state is home to 842 people as of 2014. More than 70% of the population is clergy, about 13% - the National Guard. There are few laypeople - their number does not even reach a hundred.

The Vatican is the seat of the Holy See, the papal court and its service personnel. Going there just like that “on a visit” will not work, but you can visit individual attractions. What tourist sites can be seen in the Vatican?

Vatican is the most small state in the world, a dwarf enclave state. You can’t go there just like that, “on a visit”, but here you can visit individual tourist sites. Each of them has its own order of visits. What sights can ordinary tourists see in the Vatican?

St. Peter's Square (Piazza San Pietro - Piazza San Pietro) - the largest Roman square, located on the western tip of the Holy City. Piazza San Pietro is surrounded on all sides by a colonnade. A white line is inscribed on the stone tiles along the outer perimeter of the square. This is not just a marking, but the state border of the Vatican. The rest of the territory of the state is surrounded by a medieval high wall.

The impregnable wall was built in the 16th century to protect sovereign territory from external intrusions. The total length of the Vatican state border is three kilometers. You can easily bypass it completely in an hour, although you are unlikely to get interesting impressions from such a trip, because the Vatican is surrounded by ordinary city houses of modern buildings. You can enter Piazza San Pietro freely - it is blocked only during important public events.

It is best to walk to the square from Via della Conciliazione (Reconciliation Street). Along the way, you will get an unforgettable impression of the grandiose facade of the cathedral, which appears before your eyes and, as you approach it, gradually goes down. This visual effect is due to main facade the cathedral protrudes far ahead of the rest of the building.

Egyptian obelisk

In the very center of Piazza San Pietro stands an Egyptian obelisk topped with a bronze ball. This 35-meter colossus, made of pink granite, was brought to Rome by Emperor Caligula. The obelisk was installed in the square under Pope Sixtus V. It was transferred under the guidance of the architect Domenico Fontana, in 1586. There is a legend that the ashes of Caesar himself are kept in the ball crowning the upper part of the obelisk.

Bernini's colonnade surrounds the square in two giant semicircles. Architectural ensemble the square, formed by 284 Doric columns and the facade of the cathedral, resembles the outline of a key that opens the gates of paradise. Two points are marked on the square - two small circles made of white marble. These points mark the centers of the circles formed by the colonnades. If you stand on one of these marble circles, then all four rows of columns will merge into one. In this case, the observer will see only the first row of columns located at a considerable distance from each other.

Fountains in the square

It is impossible to see the entire interior of the cathedral in one visit - the interior of the temple is blocked off with barriers, for tourists usually only the side naves and the back territory are left. At the far end of the main nave is the pulpit of St. Petra, created by Bernini, and to the right of it is the monument to Clement XIII, made by Antonio Canova. You will be lucky if you manage to get close to these sights of the cathedral.

Above the tomb of St. Peter is the Papal altar with a 30-meter canopy by Bernini, surrounded by 95 lamps. These inextinguishable lamps illuminate the descent to the tomb of the apostle. Tourists are not allowed to descend to the sacred tomb.

You can take pictures of the interior of the cathedral. To navigate inside the huge temple, grab a good guide from detailed description its altars, chapels and gravestones.

Vatican grottoes

Tourists rise to the dome of the basilica from the street, following the sign. There is always a queue for this climb. For 8 € you can walk up the high stairs, and for 10 € you can take a special elevator up to the middle of the path. This is the highest dome in the world - its height is 136.5 meters. First stop at steep route- balustrade inside the cathedral. It is located above the golden inscription running along the circumference of the inner part of the dome.

Tourists move along the mosaic wall. A fine-mesh net separates those walking from a deep fifty-meter abyss, through which the pulpit and the floor mosaic of the main nave are visible. Only from such a great height can one truly appreciate the beauty of the mosaic composition. Very close to the walkers is the oval dome of Michelangelo. From here you can see the details of his painting.

The second stop on the way is the roof of the cathedral. Huge statues are installed along the outer edge - you can come close to them. Here, right on the roof, there is another post office and a coffee shop.

The third and last stop on the way is the top of the dome. On a narrow staircase laid between the outer and inner shells of a spherical structure, the most persistent travelers pass to observation deck near the laterna window. The most impressive panorama of Rome opens up from this observation platform.

Vatican Museums

Lateran Palace

The ceremony starts at half past eleven in the morning. Already from 9 o'clock pilgrims gather behind the colonnade: nuns, organized groups different parishes, associations and religious schools, ordinary tourists. The crowd is agitated in anticipation of the Pope, and the guards have to restrain it with great difficulty.

A papal audience is an unforgettable event even for non-Catholics. Tickets for this event are issued by the Prefecture of the Pontifical House.

When visiting the Vatican, remember that a single Roma Pass ticket is not valid on its territory. There is no passport control at the Vatican-Italy border.

How can I save up to 20% on hotels?

Everything is very simple - look not only on booking.com. I prefer the RoomGuru search engine. He searches for discounts simultaneously on Booking and 70 other booking sites.

For those traveling to Rome for the first time, we have compiled three itineraries with which you can see all the main city attractions in 3 days of leisurely walks. There is no point in hurrying in Rome, it's better to come back here again;) On our first tour, we will walk around the Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica.

Rome sightseeing map. Walk and get the opportunity to save this route in your maps.

1. Vatican Museums

It's no secret that the Vatican Museums are one of the world's largest treasure troves. Perhaps the most famous exhibit in the collection of attractions of the Vatican is the Sistine Chapel, so it's worth visiting this place at least for her sake. Unfortunately, photography is prohibited in the chapel, but you can endlessly look at the ceiling and walls painted by Michelangelo, Raphael and Giotto. At the entrance to the Vatican Museums, do not forget to take a museum audio guide in Russian for 7 euros - the tour will be more interesting.

Entrance to the Vatican Museums

On a note: The Vatican Museums, apparently, designed good merchandisers: to get to the Sistine Chapel, you have to go through a dozen very interesting and beautiful halls. But the trouble is that, having approached the chapel, you will no longer have enthusiasm for the most interesting and delicious. In general, take care of your strength - the Vatican, like any other museum, is better to absorb in small portions, biting off the most delicious pieces first;)

2. Apostolic Palace

Walking through the halls of the Vatican, do not miss the courtyard of the Apostolic Palace, especially in clear weather. In the center of the courtyard is the famous sculpture of Arnoldo Pomadoro " Earth bought by Pope John Paul II in 1990.

Sculpture "Globe" in the Vatican

3. Belvedere

Here, in a small Roman courtyard, you will find two of the most famous statues: Laocoön and Apollo Belvedere.

Laocoön

4. Sistine Chapel

Wooden benches are installed along the walls of the chapel, where you can sit down and, with your head up, find famous fresco"Creation of Adam". But this is only a small fraction - all the walls and ceiling of the chapel are painted with the most famous masters early and mature Renaissance: Giotto, Raphael, Michelangelo...

The Creation of Adam Scene

5. Exit the Sistine Chapel

From the chapel, turning to the left door, you will get back to the museum on the famous Michelangelo stairs, and turning right - to St. Peter's Basilica, bypassing all the queues. Few people know about this exit, it is intended for groups and certified guides, but if you pretend to be a rag and turn right at the end of the Sistine Chapel, you will get to the Cathedral, saving time;)

Michelangelo's staircase in the Vatican

6. St. Peter's Basilica

You can get to St. Peter's Basilica in two ways: either by standing in line at the right wing of the Bernini colonnade encircling the cathedral (it leads inside the Cathedral and directly to the observation deck of the dome), or by going to the Cathedral through the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican Museums.

Climb to dome of St. Peter's Basilica is a must for any traveller. It offers a stunning view of the Vatican, the Vatican Gardens, Castel Sant'Angelo and the right bank of the Tiber. We recommend taking the lift ticket. It costs 2 euros more than a regular ticket, but will save you a lot of energy that you will still need to explore the city.

View from the observation platform on the dome of St. Peter's Cathedral

7. The interior of St. Peter's Basilica

You need to get into the cathedral itself at least in order to see the most grandiose temple of all time, Bernini's bronze canopy and Michelangelo's "Pieta". that was taken down from the cross. The sculpture is small in size and kept behind glass. But this does not prevent at all from seeing the settled dead body, the lifelessly hanging hand of Christ and the completely girlish face of the sad Virgin Mary.

"Lamentation of Christ" - Michelangelo's first and most outstanding pieta

8. St. Peter's Square and Bernini's Colonnade

In the center of the square, do not ignore the Egyptian obelisk. At one time, Rome, like many cities in Europe, once again embraced "Egyptomania". In particular, this obelisk was brought by the emperor Caligula, then attached by the emperor Nero to his circus, and already in the Middle Ages, the Roman pontiffs interpreted the concept of an obelisk or stele as a "torch of faith", demolished the statues of emperors crowning them and erected statues of the apostles, the Mother of God on them or, in extreme cases, just stars. By the way, there is a legend that the ashes of Caesar himself are kept in a bronze ball on the obelisk...

St. Peter's Square in Rome

9. End of the tour at via Concializione

At the end of our first walk, we suggest walking along Conciazione Street to the Angel Castle. From here you have some excellent panoramic views of St. Peter's Basilica framed by the streets.

In total, there are 26 museums in the Vatican, many of them are not at all large, but there is nothing to think about embracing the immensity and inspecting at one time all the collections of art objects collected over 500 years by the Catholic Church. Many museums bear the name of the Pope who created them. The oldest collections date back to XVI century. Therefore, in this article I will tell you what to choose for the first acquaintance, and what you can skip. There are always a lot of people in the Vatican Museums, do not have any illusions that you will not be able to see the exposition in peace and quiet.

Tickets are recommended to be purchased in advance and think in advance what you would like to see. Pro different variants I wrote a visit to the Vatican in the previous article “”, if you haven’t read this yet, I recommend that you first read it, there I tell you how to buy tickets and what visiting options are possible and how much the different options cost, where you can download free audio guides.

If you bought your tickets online, you can skip the line at the box office. At the entrance you will have to go through metal detectors, so it is better to leave knives, multitools, scissors at the hotel. In the lobby, you need to select the "Cassa online individuals" box and exchange your voucher for a real ticket if you bought a ticket only for the Vatican Museums. If you bought a ticket with gardens or a visit to Castel Gandolfo, you need to look for the inscription "Guided tour".

Checkout

I recommend that you print out the plan of the museum at home so that you do not wander. The plan is not issued with tickets.

The first place where all tourists go is the cone yard. Cone antique and in ancient rome she adorned the fountain, then for some time the bump stood in old basilica Peter, and now she has given her name to the whole courtyard of the Vatican. At the foot of the cone, two ancient Egyptian lions lay down to rest. In this building, just behind the bump is the Gregorian egyptian museum.

Yard bumps, estimate how many people

Pio Clementino Museum

Usually, the average visitor starts their tour of the Vatican Museums with the Pio Clementino Museum. Museum received double name from the two popes who founded it - Clement XIV (1769-1774) and Pius VI (1775-1799). The expositions of Pio Clementino present a wide collection of antique sculpture.

The crowd will carry you through the hall of animals, you cannot enter from the hall itself, it is fenced with ropes. And take it out into a magnificent octagonal courtyard.

Crowds of people in an octagonal courtyard

This is where you need to stop. It is in this courtyard that the famous statues of Apollo Belvedere, Hermes Belvedere, Perseus the Triumphator with the severed head of Medusa Gorgon are installed. The last one was sculpted by Antonio Canova, i.e. this is the 19th century, not antiquity. Where the largest crowd stands, the famous Laocoön hides most quickly. Laocoon has for Rome great value. I'll tell you why below.

Perseus the Triumphant 19th century, Laocoön, Torso

Description sculptural group The Laocoön is found in the ancient writings of Pliny the Elder. It is said that during the Trojan War, Laocoon, the priest of Apollo in the city of Troy, dissuaded the Trojans from dragging into the city a wooden horse left by the Greeks outside the city gates. Athena and Poseidon, who were on the side of the Greeks, sent two large sea serpents to kill the priest and his sons. From the Roman point of view, the death of these innocent people is of decisive importance to Aeneas, who believed Laocoön's warning and fled Troy. It was the fugitives from Troy, led by Aeneas, who founded Rome.

As for the age of the statue, disputes do not subside. The incredible emotionality of the sculpture is striking, on the other hand, we know that the ancients were not able to convey movements and emotions so vividly, but this did not prevent art theorists from referring the birth date of Laocoön to the beginning of our era.

In the center of the Hall of Muses there is a statue of "Torso". it antique sculpture, they say it was from her that Michelangelo wrote off the nude figures of the fresco " Last Judgment”, decorating one of the walls of the Sistine Chapel. Next, I give photos of ancient sarcophagi, they are very wonderful.

Sarcophagus with the battle of the Amazons

Sarcophagus depicting Dionysius

I photographed the bust of Socrates for the fact that his name is written almost in our letters, Fortune for good luck. The most valuable exhibit below the presented trinity is Hercules with the apples of the Hesperides. Firstly, it is antique bronze, and not many antique bronzes have survived to our time, and secondly, many marble statues are copies from antique bronzes that have not survived to our time. Antique bronzes are now exhibited only in museums in Italy and Greece, they are not available in other countries.

Socrates, Muse Fortuna, Heracles with the Apples of the Hesperides

floors round hall adorned with antique mosaics. And in the center is a huge porphyry pool, 5 meters in diameter. It is believed that the pool is antique, how they made it remains a mystery, porphyry is a hard stone. Making something out of porphyry is much harder than making it out of marble or travertine.

round hall

Two porphyry sarcophagi are exhibited in the Greek Cross Hall. One of them, according to legend, belonged to Saint Helena, and the second to Constance. In appearance, these are typical antique sarcophagi. The audio guide tirelessly talked about the Christian warriors depicted on the sarcophagus of St. Helena, but there are no signs of the warriors belonging to Christianity. The sarcophagus of Constantius is adorned with scenes of the grape harvest, suggesting analogies between grapes resurrecting as wine and the resurrection of Christ. In my opinion, all this is very far-fetched. Even according to official version Saint Helena and her son Constantine adopted Christianity at the end of their lives, before they had time to make Christian sarcophagi for themselves. You just have to acknowledge this fact.

In the background is the sarcophagus of St. Helena, in front, people are looking at the mosaic floors.

It is curious that another Pope was later buried in the sarcophagus of St. Helena. For me, this is on the verge of sacrilege, and the Holy Fathers are not at all embarrassed by such things.

Mosaic floors in the Greek Cross Hall

This is where the halls of the Pio Clementino Museum end. From here you can turn either to the Egyptian Museum or the Etruscan Museum. The halls of the Egyptian Museum will lead you back to the beginning of the Pio Clementino Museum. Here everyone decides for himself whether he wants to turn left and see the Gregorian museums or not.

Gregorian Egyptian Museum

The Gregorian Egyptian Museum is named after Pope Gregory XVI, who founded the collection in 1839. The museum consists of only 9 rooms and presents typical ancient egypt collections, such as numerous hieroglyphic inscriptions, sarcophagi, statues of ancient Egyptian deities with animal heads, and even a real mummy of an Egyptian noble lady named Amenirdis, wrapped in a net of precious beads. Most of all, I was struck by the ancient Egyptian god Bes, the patron saint of babies and pregnant women. If he was to drive away evil spirits, then his appearance is the most suitable.

Gregorian Etruscan Museum

As you may have guessed, it was opened by Pope Gregory XVI. The museum consists of 18 rooms and was one of the first museums dedicated to the Etruscans. I recommend visiting this museum to all Slavs. There are historical theories according to which the Etruscans were Slavs and lived much later than it is customary to think about them now. The Polish scientist Tadeusz Volansky deciphered many Etruscan inscriptions back in the 19th century and published books about his research. For this, the Pope asked the Russian Emperor Nicholas I to apply an auto-da-fé from his books to the scientist. This episode took place in the enlightened XIX century. Books were banned, the issue was hushed up, official science still considers Etruscan inscriptions unreadable.

Etruscan gold jewelry is very similar to what we have on display in the Golden Storeroom of the Hermitage, i.e. for Scythian things.

Gallery of candelabra

The Candelabra Gallery is part of the Profano Museum. The length of the gallery is 80 m. The gallery got its name thanks to the antique candelabra decorating it from all sides. The ceiling is decorated with paintings on the theme of reconciliation of religion and science, religion and art, and even harmony between paganism and Christianity.

Vatican Crowds, Candelabra Gallery, Coat of Arms of Pope Leo XIII

Tapestry Gallery

The tapestry gallery was designed under Pope Pius VI. The main exhibits are the tapestries of the Brussels manufactory of Peter Van Elst, woven in the 16th century under Clement VII, that got into the gallery much later than 1838, until that moment they adorned the walls of the famous Sistine Chapel. The weavers of Flanders managed to depict complex religious subjects using threads of only 6 colors.

Map Gallery

An unusually long narrow gallery of geographical maps, perhaps the most impressive room in the Apostolic Palace, was painted with frescoes commissioned by Pope Gregory XIII. It took three years from 1580 to 1583 for 40 frescoes to take their places on both sides of the gallery. Some maps have important cartographic value. The maps depict the areas of Italy that belong to the Papal States. At the very end of the gallery is a map of Italy during antiquity, and on the other side is a map of Italy modern at the time of writing the fresco (XVI century).

One of the regions of Italy in the gallery of geographical maps

During the Renaissance, it was quite popular to decorate the halls of palaces. geographical maps, for example, the Globe Hall in the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence is decorated in a similar way.

On the way to one of the most remarkable parts of the palace, we looked into the inner courtyard of the Vatican, probably this is the whole personal life of the Vatican available to tourists. Nothing human is alien to the Holy Fathers, they love cars and drive them to Rome. The Vatican is so small that there is nowhere to go there.

Vatican courtyard

Raphael's Stanzas

I warmly recommend visiting these rooms with an audio guide. The stanzas, or simply rooms, were painted by Raphael and his students from 1508 to 1524 for Pope Julius II della Rovere. There are only 4 rooms. Each of these paintings was replicated in different palaces around the world. If you don’t know who these people are and what kind of plot it is, then it’s better to go to the store to choose wallpaper, the effect will be about the same. For example, tapestries repeating the Raphael scenes “Constantine in front of his army”, “The expulsion of Heliodor from their Temple”, “ Athenian school” and “Parnassus” are now exhibited in the Hermitage. Initially, they were made to decorate the Mikhailovsky Castle in St. Petersburg.

So that you can get an idea of ​​the greatness of these paintings, I will insert official video museums of the Vatican. I will not explain the plots, it can easily be stretched into an entire article. Yes, and those who wish can easily find everything on the Internet.

The next noteworthy stop will be the Borgia apartments.

Apartments Borgia

Fans of the series "Borgia" must stop here. The murals were made by Bernardino Pinturicchio (Pinturicchio in Italian means simply lovely painting) at the very end of the 15th century, before the murals of Raphael, according to the mind, you should first look at them, and only then get acquainted with the stanzas of Raphael, but the route is designed so that you can get into these rooms only after the chambers of Julius II, the successor and rival of Alexander VI Borgia .

People who watched the series will remember this story. Pope Alexander VI Borgia is still considered a libertine, murderer and very a good man is the official version. According to the unofficial version, he lost in political struggle to their opponents, and they denigrated him, attributed to him and even his children all conceivable and inconceivable sins. He is even accused of corrupting his 13-year-old daughter Lucrezia.

Alexander VI certainly did not suffer from modesty, for example, he placed his image on a fresco with the well-known religious plot of the Resurrection of Christ. But in this he was no different from his followers. In the church near the Pantheon, we saw Cardinal Carafu inserted into the plot of the Annunciation.

Resurrection of Christ, Pope Borgia is depicted in this fresco

But this dirty story is not all the interesting and mysterious that the Borgia apartments have to offer. Our scientists G.V.Nosovsky, A.T.Fomenko calculated the date encrypted on the ceiling of the Sibyl Hall. They believe that the date on the ceiling is August 28, 1228 AD, and it corresponds to the creation of the Ptolemaic system of the world. Official historical science believes that the Ptolemaic system of the world order appeared in the II century AD. Not docking in 1000 years is evident. The calculations of G.V. Nosovsky, A.T. Fomenko are published on the Internet, those who wish can familiarize themselves and form their own opinion.

The Sistine Chapel

In Rome, I was struck all the way by the close interweaving of pagan and christian symbols. This feeling reached its climax in the Sistine Chapel. Could you imagine that the hierarchs of the Orthodox Church held their meetings in such a hall? And the fathers of the Catholic Church arrange their conclaves in the Sistine Chapel, it is here that they choose the new Pope.

This is a glitched 3D panorama of the Sistine Chapel from the official Vatican website, it keeps asking to save the file musical accompaniment, pay no attention to it.

Initially, Michelangelo painted all the figures completely naked with all the anatomical details; loincloths were added to them much later. The sibyls are again present on the ceiling. I read the Bible and remember well that the idea runs like a red thread through the entire Old Testament that fortunetellers and soothsayers are an abomination in the face of the Lord. And in Rome, in almost every church, fortune-tellers are depicted in the form of sibyls.

Taking pictures in the Sistine Chapel is not allowed at all. The fact is that the Italians did not have money to restore the chapel. They were forced to sell to a Japanese company that invested in the restoration. The Japanese received exclusive filming rights in the chapel. At the moment when we examined the chapel of people in it, it was like being on a bus at rush hour. Everyone stood shoulder to shoulder and listened to their audio guides. I saw the magnificent floor of the Sistine Chapel only on a 3D panorama.

If you go left after the Sistine Chapel, you can get into St. Peter's Basilica without a queue, and to the right you can continue visiting museums.

In general, we spent 5 hours to inspect the described part of the Vatican Museums, but everything is individual. Official guided tours of the Vatican Museums usually fit in 2-3 hours. If you take your own audio guide, you can probably go there for 8 hours. Museums have cafes where you can have a bite to eat - not tasty and expensive. I don’t even know what I wanted more to sit down or something to eat. There are definitely more seats, but there were no empty seats in the cafe, only standing tables. People ate sitting on the stairs. Some rooms have benches.

You can go to the Vatican Museums, like the Hermitage, many times, each time choosing something new. We did not go to the Pinakothek and out of 26 museums we visited only 9, and even then not completely, but we were overwhelmed with impressions. Some museums are of interest only to specialists, such as lapidariums.

Have you been to the Vatican Museums? How long did it take you for the inspection? What did you find interesting for yourself?

Do you want to travel to Rome on your own? Read in one article. You will learn: about all types of airport transfers (price), about the cost of tickets for public transport, get a plan for exploring the city for 6 days, where is the best place to buy tickets to museums in Rome and avoid queues.

| 3 (1 ratings, average: 5,00 out of 5)