Photo Walk - Vatican City

As a Christian, perhaps only Jerusalem would be higher on my list of sites to visit than Vatican City, even though I am not Catholic.  The Vatican City is an independent country, the smallest one in the world, located within these walls in the middle of  Rome.  It is the headquarters of the Catholic Church, the home of one of the world's largest collections of art, St. Peter's Basilica, and the Papal Offices.

If you ever get the opportunity to visit the Vatican City, make certain you pre-book your tour, or you will be stuck in the line that surrounded the city, which you can see along the wall.

A tour of the Vatican City begins with the Vatican Museums, four miles of palaces decorated with artwork.  To my surprise, you were allowed to take photos in the museums, so I'll do a separate blog for the interior of the Museum.

The base of the column of Antoninus Pius in the Cortile della Corazze

The Atrium of the Four Gates

The Pinacoteca, a art gallery

The Fountain of the Pinecone

The Courtyard of the Pinecone - the sculpture in the middle is called the Sphere Within a Sphere

Augustus's Head in the Courtyard of the Pinecone

St. Peter's Square was set up for a program

The Papal Apartments

The Colonnades embrace St. Peter's Square, symbolizing the arms of the Pope/Church reaching out to the people

Their uniforms were designed by
Michelangelo.

The Swiss Guard provide the security for the Pope at the Vatican City.

St. Peter's Basilica, the largest church in the world.  I will also do a blog with more pictures of the Basilica later.

The Obelisk

The Sistine Chapel beside the Basilica

This wall connects Vatican City with the Castel Sant'Angelo