Vatican

Trip Start Apr 17, 2002
1
10
31
Trip End May 21, 2002


Loading Map
Map your own trip!
Map Options
Show trip route
Hide lines
shadow

Flag of Italy  , Lazio,
Sunday, April 21, 2002

We decided to start with Vatican.  Coincidentally, it was Sunday morning and we arrived at Vatican at the time the Pope was conducting the Sunday Mass.
You can watch the mass broadcast on big screens outside the St Peter's Basilica but we thought it would be nice to catch a glimpse of the Pope, live, so to speak.  In the end we managed to do it but only from a distance of some 50-60 meters. 
The Basilica was packed with people inside but the famous square in front of it was relatively empty, due to the time of the year, I guess.
When we were remembering our trip afterwards we decided that the St Peter's Basilica was one with the most beautiful interior of all the churches we had seen while Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence (we'll get to it later) takes the cake for the exterior.
Jumping ahead, the next day we returned to visit the famous Cappella Sistina and the Vatican Museums which are closed on Sunday.  The treasures collected there are indeed breath-taking and it was crowded even in April.
Slideshow Print this entry Rome hotels