Vatican, Rome > Reviews (7)

As a Catholic, going to Vatican is like going to Mecca for Muslims or the Ganges for the Hindus. It's been my dream since my baptism. The Vatican's 44 hectares of land make it the smallest state in the world but the biggest tourist attraction. It is an independent state and the headquarter of the Catholic church and home to the current Pope.

The Vatican museum is a must-go when visiting Vatican. It contains the finest classical and Renaissance art and Greek and Roman antique. After the museum, the next most amazing place to visit is the Sistine's Chapel. It is famous for the Michaelangelo's frescoes on the barrel-vaulted ceiling and his Last Judgment on the end wall. The part that I remember most in the whole frescoes is picture on Adam and God(Adam and God both hold out their hands and their fingers nearly touch). I have watched a documentary on psychology and if you look closely at this part of the fresco-Adam and God, you would notice that the shape of this whole picture looks like the human brain-apparently there is a saying that man "invented" God in their head!!!

One of the most important function of the chapel is as a venue for the election of each successive pope in a ceremony called the conclave. On this occasion, a chimney is installed on the roof of the chapel from which smoke rises as a signal. If white smokes appears(created by burning the ballots of the election and some additives), a new pope has been elected.

The final stop in Vatican is the St Peter's Basilica, the largest church in the world. Designed by Bramante and Raphael and with the dome added by Michaelangelo, it is a magnificent piece of art. It looks like a palace, rather than a church, with all its decorations. I went in to the quiet area within the chapel to pray-being able to say a prayer in the largest and most significant church in the world is amazing.

Finally, it came to souvenir time. Apart from the usual rosary beads and crucifixes, please remember that Vatican is actually an independent state. What I tend to do when traveling to a country for the first time is to send postcards. The postcards sent out from Vatican do not have the usual Italian stamp, but the Vatican stamps. There is a post office within the Vatican museum and before you leave the Vatican at the exit. Sending postcards is indeed a very good idea for relatives and friends. The post offices also do a lot of stamps for various events and occasion, a good place for stamp collectors.