Bobbe's trip to Rome, part 2: the Vatican

Bobbe continues telling Benny about her trip to Rome:

After I finished exploring the ruins of ancient Rome, I decided it was time to learn about the important religious sites in Rome. Rome has long been the center of the Catholic Church, which is the largest branch of Christianity. The "Bishop of Rome" is known as the Pope, and the Pope is the leader of the Catholic Church. Ever since St. Peter became the first Pope almost 2,000 years ago, Rome has been at the forefront of Catholic life.

You will remember, of course, that Rome is the capital of Italy. But the Pope actually doesn't live in Italy. He is the head of state of his own very tiny country -- by far the smallest in the world -- which is entirely surrounded by Rome. This country is called Vatican City. It has its own flag and its own laws, but very, very few people live inside it.

Most of Vatican City is taken up by museums and churches. Here is a picture of me in front of the entrance to the Vatican Museum -- which, coincidentally, also happens to be the border between Italy and Vatican City.

I get ready to enter the Vatican Museum.

Vatican City is protected by a special group of soldiers called the Swiss Guards. Their main job is to protect the Pope. Hundreds of years ago, it was very common for foreign countries to hire Swiss soldiers as mercenaries. The Swiss were known for being very effective and very well trained. This tradition survives today only in the Vatican, where the Swiss Guards are, in fact, still from Switzerland.

I hang out with the Swiss Guards and admire their striped pants.

The most important building inside Vatican City is a huge church called St. Peter's Basilica. St. Peter's is one of the largest churches in the entire world, depending on your criteria. When the Pope leads an important mass inside St. Peter's, sometimes as many as 80,000 people will come to worship. When that happens, many of these people have to sit outside in the big square in front of the basilica.

I pose with the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in the background.

Here I am in the square in front of St. Peter's Basilica.

Here is a photo of St. Peter's Basilica as seen from the Tiber River.

Near St. Peter's Basilica is a very famous little chapel called the Sistine Chapel. In 1508, Pope Julius II asked an artist named Michelangelo to decorate the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo had to build scaffolding so that he could lie on his back and paint on the ceiling. The result was one of the most famous buildings in the world. All over the Sistine Chapel are intricately decorated frescoes depicting scenes from the Bible. (A fresco is a painting done on wet plaster so that the plaster will harden and become a wall) No photography is allowed inside the Sistine Chapel, but luckily I found a photograph of one of the best frescoes online.

Michelangelo's The Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel.

Despite the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo isn't most famous as a painter. He is actually best known for his sculptures. He could take a giant block of marble and make it into just about anything. One of his most famous sculptures is called the Pietà, which is housed in St. Peter's Basilica. A pietà is a sculpture of Mary holding the dead body of Jesus Christ, and of course Michelangelo's is by far the world's most famous pietà. This particular sculpture is also well known because it is the only work on which Michelangelo ever signed his name.

I pose in front of Michelangelo's Pietà.

A somewhat better photograph of Michelangelo's Pietà.

I really enjoyed my trip to Vatican City. It was very interesting to get to learn about the Catholic Church and to get to see so much great artwork.

I have one more post from Rome left to make, then I will move on to tell you about the rest of my trip around the Mediterranean Sea!

--Bobbe