Vatican Travel Guide

The

the Vatican City (Latin: Status Civitatis Vaticanas; Italian: Stato della Città del Vaticano), referred to as "Vatican", is located in the highland of the northwest corner of Rome, the capital of Italy. Because it borders Italy on all sides, it is called "State China." It is also the center of Catholicism around the world-the seat of the Holy See headed by the Pope, and the faith center of one-sixth of the world's population.

Territory includes St. Peter's Square, St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican Palace and Vatican Museum, etc.; the territory is roughly triangular, except for St. Peter's Square in the southeast of the city, the border is marked by the ancient walls of Vatican. Vatican is also one of the countries with the smallest territory and smallest population in the world. Its predecessor was the Pope State. Since 1929, it has been determined as a sovereign state by the Treaty of Lateran. It has accepted direct rule by the Holy See and implemented a political system that integrates religion and religion. Although the Vatican has not enacted any laws on official languages, Italian is the most commonly used.

Most of the citizens of the Vatican are clergy, including bishops, priests, nuns, and the famous Swiss Guard (a volunteer guard dedicated to serving the Pope). There are also about 3000 secular workers, who are the main labor force of the Vatican, but none of them live in Vatican City. Because there are no fields, no agriculture, no industry, and no mineral resources in this country. The people's daily necessities of production and life, such as tap water, electricity, food, fuel, gas, etc., are all supplied by Italy, so there is no big difference from Italy in terms of diet.

Before 2002, the

often used the Italian lira and the Vatican lira as the common currency in its territory. After Italy joined the euro zone, Vatican signed a special agreement with the European Union to issue a small number of minted coins belonging to the Vatican for circulation and collection. Although the Vatican is a small country geographically, due to its large Catholic faith population around the world, it has the same important influence as the United States, China, and Russia in political and cultural fields.

The daily life of the Vatican is very religious. Every Sunday, Catholics in St. Peter's Square gather. At 12 noon, as the church bell rings, the Pope appears in the middle window of the roof of St. Peter's Basilica and delivers a speech to the believers.

Vatican's masterpieces of art, mainly concentrated in St. Peter's Square, St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel (Sistine Chapel). It contains Michelangelo's mural "The Last Judgment" and the zenith painting "The Creation"; Vatican museums, libraries and art galleries contain precious cultural relics and works of art since the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Special attention is paid to the fact that the Vatican prohibits tourists or local residents from wearing clothes above the knees to show their sacred respect for the city of God.

The Vatican Museum is located north of St. Peter's Church in Rome, Italy. It was originally the Pope's court. The collection of rare relics and art treasures is comparable to that of the British Museum in London and the Louvre in Paris. In the 16th century, the museum was expanded at the same time as St. Peter's Basilica, with a total area of 5. 5 hectares, which is 1/13 of the Palace Museum, and the exhibition area is similar to that of the Palace Museum. The vast Vatican museums have six kilometers of display space, among which the famous Sistine Chapel is the third or fourth largest art palace in Europe. Visiting can be exhausting, so it's best to plan beforehand, focus on a few themes, and leave more time here.

Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano, the world's largest cathedral. This cathedral is located on the west side of the square. As early as the 4th century AD, Roman Emperor Constantine built a rectangular cathedral on the cemetery of St. Peter, a disciple of Jesus who died in the northwest corner of Rome. It was a Basilica-style building, called the Old St. Peter's Basilica.

In the 16th century, Pope Julius II decided to rebuild the cathedral and started construction in 1506. During the 120-year reconstruction process, Bramante, Michelangelo, Della Porte, Carlo Mattel and other Italian best architects successively presided over the design and construction, and was announced for completion on November 18, 1626. The renovated church was in Renaissance and Baroque architectural styles and was called the New St. Peter's Basilica; Since 1870, major religious activities have been held here. The entire church building presents a Greek cross structure, with a traditional and sacred shape; the main building of the church is 45.4 meters high, including the porch, which is about 230 meters long from east to west, and about 138 meters wide from north to south. The total building area is 23,000 square meters and can accommodate up to 60,000 people. It is the largest church in the world until now.

is highly scientific because the design of the church integrates the principles of symmetry aesthetics, perspective aesthetics, proportions, etc., and the appearance gives people a harmonious and solemn vision. There are 11 statues with Jesus as the center above the eaves, and on both sides There is a clock that displays Greenwich Time and Roman Time. In the middle of the church, there is a circular dome designed by Michelangelo with a height of 137.8 meters above the ground and a circumference of 71 meters. It is not only the commanding height of Vatican City, It is also the highest point in the city of Rome, where tourists can climb to the top and view the scenery of Rome; the church has five doors to enter, but the "holy gate" on the right side only opens every 25 years on Christmas Eve. It is difficult for ordinary tourists to encounter such an opportunity.

When I entered and looked around, I was shocked. The dazzling array of art treasures was dazzling. The 123.4-meter-high dome and the 183-meter-long hall walls are covered with paintings and statues based on the Bible, many of which are masterpieces by famous artists. There is a 1.5-meter-long Holy Spirit carrier pigeon on the colored window at the end of the main hall, which is very eye-catching; there is an entrance to the Treasure Hall on the left side of the hall. There are more than a hundred artistic treasures in the church, of which "Holy Mourning", the bronze canopy and St. Peter's Throne are among the three treasures.

and most tourists come to Vatican City to view the famous St. Peter's Basilica, so they prefer to return to Rome in terms of food and drink because there are more choices in Rome. Visitors can also go to the Vatican Post Office next to St. Peter's Basilica and send postcards with Vatican stamps as a memorial.

On the boulevard from Risoro Jimement Square to Popolo Square next to the Vatican is a shopping street. Tourists can shop while walking. The wide street has everything from high-end fashion to ordinary people's shops.

Travel tips: 1. The queue time at the Vatican Museum is very long. It is recommended to go earlier. Basically, the queue time is about 40 minutes.

2. You cannot bring knives or water when entering the church. There will be security checks and clothing inspections similar to airports. The dress code is strict, and you cannot enter for a visit if you wear shorts (including short skirts above the knees) and sleeveless tops.