Rome - places to see

Vatican

Vatican is obviously a must see. The most powerful religious establishment in the world does justice to itself by having its own ambassador at Washington DC and even having its own country . Make sure you do have a guide when you visit the site as you can get easily lost in its ancient history. You can find many Roman and Pagan symbols which can confuse the eye , so, a guide can be a valuable source to explain a lot of their origins.

Basically, it is the site which has the most monuments in the whole world . There are so many Roman gods depicted as early Christianity had to accommodate lots of pagan elements atleast in its initial phase.

Dont miss the Sistine chapel which was painted by the great Michael Angelo , well, you have to see it to believe it. Spend a good half an hour in the chapel and examine the origins of life which includes stories of Adam and eve and a lot of biblical characters.

St Peters Basilica is a masterpiece . We were lucky to have witnessed a service during our visit . Keep photos ready in the Basilica as you might need them for memories , surely. No photos in Sistine chapel and you will attract the attention of Italian police if you take your camera out of your bag. They will show you the exit, beware.

I learnt about Porphyry in the Vatican. Vatican has the most extensive collection of this stone in the whole world . It costs as much as gold. It was mined in Egypt 2000 years ago which was brought by the Roman emperors to Italy. I was shocked to see a huge bath made of porphyry [ 2500 year old ] which looked new. It catches your eye .

You will also be surprised to see an Egyptian obelisk in front of St Peters Basilica and these obelisks are common all over Rome. They were symbols of Roman power as I was informed that the Romans used to get them from Egypt to show off their power of conquest.

We did get a glimpse of the Pope's room but unfortunately could not see him. The Swiss guards who guard the Pope have a very different costume. I did manage to click a few photos of the guards.

Lastly, dont miss the Raphael rooms in the Vatican. Masterpieces of art. Lovers of art , please note that his cartoons are on display at Victoria and Albert museum London [ worth checking their website].
You need more than half a day for the Vatican . Try not to buy in the gift shop near the Vatican. You can get gifts cheaper in the city.

Do some research on Wikipedia before your visit just to get a history lesson before your start.


BTW , there are over 950 Churches in Rome and many of them had the work of some of the greatest painters and sculptors . We visited a church called the Church of the holy crucifix near Piazza Novona which was nice.