The smallest officially recognized state of the Vatican in the world is the territory of the Holy See and the seat of the highest clergy of the Roman Catholic Church. An ordinary tourist rarely arrives here on purpose. Usually walks in the Vatican are included in the general plan of exploring Roman sights. During its existence, the dwarf enclave state has collected within its walls such a number of values that the Vatican museums are rightfully considered one of the richest in the world. If you are interested in what to see in the Vatican, pay attention to the architectural monuments and the interior decoration of the main temple, where every detail is worthy of close attention and admiration.
TOP 15 attractions of the Vatican
The Sistine Chapel
The former home church of the Vatican, built in the 15th century, by the will of fate, has become one of the outstanding cultural monuments of world importance. The "elections" of the new pope are still held here, but the Sistine Chapel attracts true connoisseurs of art with its frescoes. The walls of the chapel are decorated with paintings by Botticelli and Perugino, Ghirlandaio and Rosselli. And the most famous work adorns the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. This is a series of frescoes by Michelangelo, created at the beginning of the 16th century and considered an unsurpassed masterpiece of the Renaissance.
Castel Sant'Angelo
Within the walls of this gloomy structure, called the Sad Castle, Caracalla was buried, Giordano Bruno languished in captivity, and Pope Alexander VI Borgia either poisoned wealthy cardinals in order to get their property, or mercifully closed his eyes to such tricks of his own relatives.
Built in the 2nd century, the Castel Sant'Angelo has long served as the official residence of the popes, and today it houses the Military History Museum.
To get there: metro line A st. Lepanto or auth. No. 62, 23, 280 stop. Piazza Pia.
Ticket price: 10, 5 euros.
St. Peter's Cathedral
The largest Christian church in the world, St. Peter's Cathedral was founded in 1626 on the burial place of the closest disciple of Jesus Christ. The famous masters of the Renaissance - Raphael, Michelangelo, Bernini and Bramante worked on the creation of the majestic structure.
The facts and figures are impressive:
- At the same time, the cathedral can accommodate more than 60 thousand people.
- The basilica is over 211 meters long, the dome has an internal height of 119 meters and a diameter of 42 meters.
- The attic of the facade is decorated with sculptures of Christ, the eleven apostles and John the Baptist. The height of each is more than 5, 5 meters.
- The height of the cathedral from the floor to the top of the cross crowning the dome is 136.5 meters.
The interiors of the cathedral are striking in their harmony and luxury of decoration. The temple houses a huge number of works of art.
Ticket price: 8 euros.
Pieta
There are a great many images of the Mother of God mourning her Son in the world. Such a plot is called drinking in iconography. The most famous in the world is the sculptural work of Michelangelo Buonarotti. You can see the famous Pieta at the Vatican at St. Peter's Basilica.
The composition amazes with its harmony and perfect elaboration of details, and art critics believe that Pieta is the most perfect work of the great sculptor.
On Mary's sling you will find Michelangelo's autograph. Pieta is the only work of a genius artist that he signed. Semi-literate, Michelangelo made the mistake of stamping out his name. Nobody dared to fix it …
St. Peter's Chair
The sculptural composition above the altar in St. Peter's Basilica was created by the magnificent artist Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini. The pulpit is crowned by the main nave, and its main relic is a throne made of wood, which belonged to the apostle. The throne is closed with a relic, repeating the shape of the shrine.
The lectern is illuminated by light from a stained-glass window made of colored alabaster plates. In the center of the stained-glass window there is a symbol of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove. Despite the seemingly small size of the bird, its wingspan is actually 3 meters.
St. Peter's Square
In front of St. Peter's Basilica in the center of the Vatican, you can look at another masterpiece of the great 17th century architect and painter Giovanni Bernini. St. Peter's Square daily gathers thousands of believers, pilgrims and ordinary tourists who want to touch the shrines of the world magnitude.
Two semicircles of columns and the street of Reconciliation, leading to the center of Rome, form the symbolic outline of the key of St. Peter. The Egyptian obelisk in the square was brought by Caligula from Heliopolis. It is believed that the ashes of Julius Caesar are kept in the ball at the top of the stele.
Vatican gardens
This Vatican landmark is located on a hill at the top of the enclave. Here you can look at a magnificent example of park design, interesting specimens of trees and flowers, and even the inhabitants of the zoo.
The Vatican Gardens are a great place to meditate and reflect on the eternal. The only pity is that visiting them is possible only as part of an organized group, and no more than two hours are allotted for the entire excursion.
Available: tours on open buses from Mon. on Sat. There is an audio guide in Russian. The ticket price is 36 euros. Guided walking tours daily, except Wed. and sup.
The ticket price is 32 euros.
Apostolic palace
The official residence of the pontiff overlooks St. Peter's Square. The palace complex includes the Pope's own apartments, government offices, chapels, a library, museums and the Sistine Chapel.
The exact date of the beginning of construction has not been preserved, but the first mentions date back to the XIV-XV centuries.
The Vatican Palace has 20 courtyards, two hundred staircases, and 12 thousand rooms, halls and rooms.
It is said that sometimes on Sundays, the pontiff appears in the second from the right window on the top floor of the facade and blesses those gathered in the square with the sign of the cross.
The last judgment
The Last Judgment fresco by Michelangelo is one of the most significant sights of the Vatican. You can see it in the Sistine Chapel.
The artist painted the fresco for almost four years. He worked on it after a 25-year hiatus. For the first time, he painted the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel.
The fresco is considered the final piece of the Renaissance as a work of art. Its dimensions are 13.7x12 meters. The work was completed in 1541.
Egyptian Museum
This Vatican museum displays art from ancient Egypt. Here you will see several mummies, sarcophagus lids that covered the tombs of the pharaohs, bas-reliefs and sculptures in a typical ancient Egyptian style.
By the way, the first rarity brought by the Romans from Ancient Egypt is the obelisk in the center of St. Peter's Square.
Historical Museum
You can trace the history of the Vatican in the Historical Museum, founded by Pope Paul VI in 1973. The exposition generously presents not only documentary evidence of the formation and development of the smallest state on the planet, but also everyday objects.
The museum displays carriages and saddles, papal guards' uniforms and flags, cars that popes use during official visits, and papal palanquins.
The grand carriage of Pope Leo XII, which has been used for almost a hundred years, looks luxurious. Cars that have changed carriages are called "papamobiles". For a long time they were produced by Mercedes-Benz, and today the pontiff uses Renault electric vehicles.
Vatican Library
The repository of manuscripts, ancient books and manuscripts in the Vatican contains more than one and a half million units of the most valuable copies, and the funds of the repository continue to be replenished with new finds.
The masterpiece of the collection is the Bible published by Duke Federico da Montefeltro. He is famous for not limiting his role to just commanding a mercenary army. The Duke of Urbino gathered at court many scholars and artists and was an avid collector of handwritten books.
Chiaramonti Museum
The exposition of the museum is dedicated to antique sculpture. Originally founded by Pope Pius VII, the collection was housed in a gallery connecting the papal palace to the Belvedere. The modern Chiaramonti Museum consists of three galleries - Corridor, Braccio Nuovo and Galleria Lapidaria.
The corridor is an arched gallery with examples of sculpture from the Roman era. The most memorable exhibit here is the huge head of Athena, which belonged to a sculpture of the Hadrian era. The New Sleeve contains works of Greek and Roman art dating back to the 5th century BC. - 1st century A. D. Galleria Lapidaria contains fragments of ancient inscriptions.
Pio Clementino Museum
Founded at the end of the 18th century, this Vatican museum houses a collection of Greek and Roman art. One of the most famous local exhibits is the gilded bronze statue of Hercules. The sculpture dates back to the 2nd century and was found on the ruins of Pompey's theater in Rome. Hercules is the only gilded statue that has survived from ancient times.
Equally interesting is the Animal Room, which contains 150 animal sculptures made of alabaster and Carrara marble.
Vatican Pinakothek
The collection of paintings in the Vatican Pinakothek appeared in the 18th century. Pope Pius VI began to collect it. The paintings were originally located in the papal chambers, but then it was decided to organize a gallery in one of the premises of the Belvedere Palace.
The collection is based on canvases by Italian masters and samples of Byzantine art. Even a simple listing of names evokes a thrill in the soul of a true admirer of painting. The Vatican Pinacoteca displays works by Raphael Santi and Leonardo da Vinci, Titian and Veronese, Caravaggio and Guido Reni. One of the halls contains a fresco and mosaic fragments from the 15th-16th centuries.
Useful information for visitors to the Vatican Museums
The Vatican Museums are open from 9 am to 6 pm.
The cost of a single ticket is 16 euros. You can buy a ticket on the museums website and avoid the queues. In this case, the price increases to 20 euros.
The right to free is given to everyone who wishes to visit the exhibition on the last Sunday of each month and on September 27 on the International Day of Tourism.
