The Vatican - An Overview

A trip to Vatican City is not only a journey inside the heart and soul of the Catholic faith – one of the world’s largest religions - but also a trip to one of the world’s most secretive, mysterious and heavily protected places.

If you visit the Vatican, you also have the distinction of visiting the world’s smallest country. Vatican City – or Holy See as it is also known - was created in 1929 by the Lateran Treaty, as a remnant of the former Papal states that existed throughout Italy at the time.

Today, the Vatican, entirely surrounded by the city of Rome, is still its own sovereign state and has its own currency, stamps, police force and radio station. It also has its own army – the Swiss Guards - whose distinctive and colorful outfits were supposedly designed by Michelangelo. The Swiss Guard is also the oldest and smallest army in the world.

For a small country – covering little more than 100 acres - the Vatican is rich in attractions and sights. The first thing that most visitors will see is the huge piazza of St. Peter’s Square, which is the only public entrance to Vatican City. The square is enclosed by a majestic colonnade, from the top of which, the statues of 140 saints look down on the crowds in the square.

Most people have seen pictures of St. Peter’s Cathedral – the largest church in the world - but nothing can compare you for the real thing. The statistics alone at St. Peter’s are staggering – the huge dome rises 450 feet high, the church covers over 6 acres and can easily hold 60,000 worshippers.

St. Peter’s boasts many treasures, including the treasury with its priceless religious artifacts and the huge dome which can be climbed for a spectacular view over Rome. Not to be missed are the Vatican grottoes with the tombs of many popes – including the tomb of St. Peter himself. One of the most impressive sculptures in the church is the famous baldacchino (a type of canopy) designed by Bernini, that rises above the altar.

After St. Peters, the biggest attraction is probably the Vatican museums. The Vatican owns one of the world’s largest and greatest art collections, all housed in a sprawling collection of galleries. The museum helpfully offers visitors several different itineraries – depending on how much time they have.

The collection boasts everything from religious paintings, to Greek and Roman artifacts, to modern masterpieces. Of course, one of the highlights is the spectacular roof of the Sistine Chapel, painted by Michelangelo over a period of four years – a job so arduous that it actually damaged his eyesight.

The Vatican contains many more treasures inside its relatively small area – unfortunately, many of these are off limits to the public. The Vatican secret archives contain countless priceless religious manuscripts and books, some of which date back to the 8th century.

The Vatican is also a place where traditions are observed as they have been for many centuries. One of the most enduring rituals is that of electing the next Pope. The Cardinals are locked inside the Sistine Chapel and signal their decision to the outside world by emitting smoke – black smoke means no decision, while white smoke means a decision has been made.

Apart from its wonderful art collections and treasures, the Vatican is still a place where people live and work – several hundred people live in the Vatican and every day, around 3,000 more workers commute from Rome and the suburbs.

The numbers are swelled by visiting tourists, pilgrims, researchers and religious dignitaries. And the Vatican may be the only place in the world where the instructions on the ATM machines are written in Latin – it still being the official language of Vatican City.

A visit to Vatican City is a memorable experience at any time. But if you can time your trip for one of the regular occasions when the Pope addresses the huge crowd in St. Peter’s Square, your trip will truly be unforgettable. For catholics, going there is definitely more than a sightseeing experience and definitely goes within the spiritual realm of it's faith.