Vatican City: Tiny Nation, Big Magic

For some reason, I felt at home while in Vatican City. I could find people speaking all languages that I speak in the hordes of tourists during day and night.  The residents of the place matched exactly how I imagined them to be . Yet most of these impressions come from movies and TV shows that either showed the Catholic Church as a benevolent caring organization or the biggest villain the history of the world has ever seen - I had never met or spoke to anybody from Vatican in my life. 

St. Peter's Basilica and the Vaticano Obelisk

Yes, this is the Holy See- a sovereign state governed by one of the oldest, if not the oldest, lineage of rulers in the world- the Pope. When the church was first founded, it experienced severely persecuted by the Roman Empire. After the reign of Constantine the Great, the Roman Catholic Church has become the most powerful and the largest religious institution in the world, until even now as we speak. As the headquarters to all Roman Catholics in the world, Vatican also had tremendous influences to how our history was shaped in all aspects, both positively...and negatively (which led to a whole strings of other events, like the Reformation and the Age of Scientific Discovery). 

The statue of Peter - Disciple of Jesus and the founder of the Roman Catholic Church

The tomb of Pius VIII

List of Popes from Peter to John Paul II

Michelangelo's dome

Pietà by Michelangelo

The location of Vatican City is centered around St. Peter's Basilica - the largest church building and one of the architectural wonders of the world. The great cathedral was erected on the spot where Peter, the founder of the Roman Catholic Church and apostle of Jesus Christ, was crucified and buried (at least according to the legends). It's hard to imagine that a place where Romans executed their criminals 1600 years later would become the site where Michelangelo's masterpiece was constructed. 

However, St.Peter's Basilica is more than just Michelangelo. It houses an impressive collection of masterpieces by none other than Gian Lorenzo Bernini, whose works  include the Fountain of Four Rivers at Piazza Navona and the collections at Gallery Borghese. Two of the most important structures,  Cattedra di San Pietro and Baldacchino di San Pietro, both bear Bernini's names as the architect. 

Cattedra di San Pietro by Bernini

Baldacchino di San Pietro

Bernini's contributions to Vatican City go beyond the church building itself. Piazza San Pietro - the main square of Vatican City, is also the proud work of Bernini. Every week, thousands of people gather at Piazza San Pietro for the Pope Audience. One of the unintended attractions tourist often find around the square is Vatican's iconic Swiss guards, whose dress was allegedly designed by Michelangelo. 

Piazza San Pietro

Piazza San Pietro

Swiss Guards

If the artworks around St.Peter's Basilica can't satisfy you, all you have to do is to make sure that you can secure a ticket to the Vatican Museum- one of the biggest and most impressive museums in the world. Not only do you get to see household name art works there, Sistine Chapel - the place where Popes are elected, is also a coherent part of the Museum tour.  To avoid the crowd, you have the options of joining a morning tour with the curator at 6:00 in the morning or an evening tour after the museum closes to the public on selected dates.

The Entrance to Vatican Museum

View of Rome from the Vatican Museum

Gallery of Maps

Scuola di Atene by Raphael

Self-portrait of Raphael, who disguised as a bystander

Despite its small size, Vatican is one of the most influential countries in human history.  Its religious influence is obviously one, while its artistic influence is often overlooked. As regular tourists, we are only able to discover a small portion of this small nation. Yet, even just base on the limited things what we are able to see, the majority of us will be touched by the magic of Vatican City.