Vatican City

Overview

Vatican City (Italian: Stato della Città del Vaticano ; Latin: Status Civitatis Vaticanae ) is the world's smallest country both by area and by population, and is the centre of Catholicism. This tiny country completely within Rome is packed with more history and artwork than most cities in the world, and indeed many countries. St. Peter's Basilica, the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel are all in Vatican City.

The Vatican City is the temporal seat of the Pope, head of the worldwide Catholic Church . Situated within the city of Rome , the Vatican is the world's smallest sovereign state. You may also hear the term Holy See (Italian: Santa Sede ; Latin: Sancta Sedes ), which is used to refer to the Diocese of Rome—that is, the ecclesiastical and administrative authority of the Pope, rather than the sovereign governmental entity that is the Vatican City State.

Sights and landscapes

Construction of the basilica began in 1506 and it was not completed until the end of 1626. Thus it spans two architectural periods. The overall design by Bramante and Michelangelo is Late Renaissance but the façade designed by Maderno and the interior, which owes much to Bernini, are both Baroque in style. The interior is lavishly decorated and contains a large number of tombs of popes and others. There are also several sculptures in side chapels, including Michelangelo's Pietà.

A queue to enter may be long, but it moves quickly. All visitors pass through metal detectors and bags are screened. Visitors in very short shorts and skirts, and sleeveless tops, are offered a cover just before the entry. Photos are allowed to be taken inside, but not with a flash. Visits to the basilica are still possible while Mass is in progress.

Free 90-minute tours leave daily from the Tourist Information Centre at 14:15, many days also at 15:00. ☏ +39 06-6988-1662 . €5 audio-guides can be rented from the cloakroom.

If you want to see the Pope , you can either see a usual blessing from his apartment at the Apostolic Palace on noons on Sundays , just show up (but in the summer he gives it from his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, 25 km from Rome) or you can go to the more formal Wednesday appearance. The pope arrives in the popemobile at 10:30 to bless crowds from a balcony or platform, except in winter, when he speaks in the Aula Paolo VI Auditorium next to the square. You can easily watch from a distance, or get a free ticket, which you must get on the Tuesday before. There are a number of ways:

There are two stones (one on each side of the square) between the obelisk and the fountains. If you stand by either of these stones, the four columns on the colonnades merge into one. In total there are 284 columns. When Bernini came to design the piazza he had to incorporate the obelisk and a fountain designed by Maderno, both of which were already there. The symmetry of the square was enhanced by the addition of another fountain, designed by Bernini.

Experiences

While guidebooks do their best to provide an aid for viewing the collections inside the Vatican, a guided tour is a far better way to make sure you get the most out of your visit.

Guided tours are provided by the Vatican itself for the cost of €30. These may be requested in advance by fax from one month to one week before the requested tour date, or online from two months before the requested tour date. The Vatican is notorious for failing to reply via fax, and repeat requests are often necessary.

Two-hour English tours of the Vatican Museum cost €31 and include museum admission, and leave at 10:30, 12:00 and 14:00 in summer, and 10:30 and 11:15 in winter. To reserve, book online . Other contact details: for groups visiteguidategruppi.musei@scv.va, for individuals: visiteguidatesingoli.musei@scv.va, ☏ +39 06 69883145 or ☏ +39 06 69884676 , fax ☏ +39 06 69873250 . With a booking you skip the queue and enter through the exit, next to the entry, to go to the guided tours desk.

Guided tours are the only way to see the quiet and peaceful , either by foot (€32, duration 2 hr) or by open bus (€36, duration 40 min). Ticket prices for both types of tours include access (without a guide) to the Vatican Museum. Book at least a day in advance by calling ☏ +39 06-6988-4676 or book online . Tuesday, Thursday, & Saturday at 10:00, depart from tour desk and finish in St. Peter's Square.

Planning your route

With an area of 49 hectares (120 acres) and a population of about 1,000 residents, the Vatican is small enough to be explored on foot. You can easily cover the Vatican in 30-60 minutes this way.

Visitors (including Italian citizens) are not allowed to drive around the Vatican without permission from the Vatican authorities. Unless you're here for something incredibly important (e.g. the Pope wants to meet you personally, you are here on diplomatic business, you're an Italian policeman and you've been asked to patrol St. Peter's Basilica) it's highly unlikely that you'll be given permission to drive around.

Some streets of Borgo and most streets in Prati have one way traffic. Parking in the streets is available, but it will be difficult to find a free place. Big parkings are located SE of St. Peter's Square and under Piazza Cavour.

Travel guide text compiled and adapted from Wikivoyage article (contributors). Sections were selected and reordered for this guide. Text is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Check current arrangements with your travel consultant.