Back to the series of 'unpublished' post, here I am sharing photos from last visit to Vatican City State. Do you guys recognize this spiral stairs of the Vatican Museums?
Yes, we were here in Vatican City State and start with the spiral stairs designed by
Giuseppe Momo in 1932. The Vatican Museums (Musei Vaticani) are the museums of
the Vatican City and are located within the city's boundaries. They display
works from the immense collection built up by the Roman Catholic Church
throughout the centuries including some of the most renowned classical
sculptures and most important masterpieces of Renaissance art in the world. Pope
Julius II founded the museums in the early 16th century.
Vatican City State (Stato della Città del Vaticano), is a
landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave
within the city of Rome. It has an area of approximately 44 hectares (110
acres), and a population of around 840. This makes Vatican City the smallest
internationally recognized independent state in the world by both area and
population. Vatican City is an ecclesiastical or sacerdotal-monarchical state,
ruled by the Bishop of Rome—the Pope. It is the sovereign territory of the Holy
See and the location of the Pope's residence, referred to as the Apostolic
Palace. The Popes have generally resided in the area that in 1929 became
Vatican City since the return from Avignon in 1377, but have also at times
resided in the Quirinal Palace in Rome and elsewhere. Vatican City was
established as an independent state in 1929 by the Lateran Treaty.
This Sistine Chapel with its ceiling decorated by
Michelangelo and the Stanze della Segnatura decorated by Raphael are on the
visitor route through the Vatican Museums. We may not took photos of the interior because flash lights can damage the paintings, but of course my hubby and I were "stealing" snaps without flash...
I got goosebumps from looking at 'The Creation of Adam' by Michelangelo
St. Peter's Basilica is a Late Renaissance designed
principally by Donato Bramante, Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno and Gian Lorenzo
Bernini. St. Peter's is the most renowned work of Renaissance architecture and
remains one of the largest churches in the world. St. Peter's is regarded as
one of the holiest Catholic sites. By Roman Catholic tradition, the basilica is the
burial site of its namesake Saint Peter, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus
and, also according to tradition, the first Bishop of Rome and therefore first
in the line of the papal succession. Tradition and some historical evidence
hold that Saint Peter's tomb is directly below the altar of the basilica. Remember the Da Vinci Code movie? (or the book?)
Leaving St. Peter towards Ponte Sant'Angelo, the Bridge of Hadrian, is a Roman
bridge in Rome, completed in 134 AD by Roman Emperor Hadrian, to span the
Tiber, from the city center to his newly constructed mausoleum, now the
towering Castel Sant'Angelo.
We love the city and wish to come back very soon!
thank you all for stopping by and read this post...
xxx
