Vatican - Part 2 - St. Peter's Basilica 1

As we go into St. Peter's Basilica, it is huge. That word probably does not explain how large it actually is. This is the largest church of any Christian church in the world. I just recently found out that it is really a Basilica as opposed to a Cathedral. the difference is that a Basilica actually has the person that it is named after buried in that location.

As we go in, we turn to the right and the first thing we see is the Chapel of the Pieta. This was created by Michelangelo and is amazing. It is currently behind a Plexiglas window as several years ago someone came in with a hammer and started banging away.

Since we were in here on two different days, there were still things that we haven;t seen and things we saw we have no idea what they were.

At the west end of the of the basilica, is Throne of St. Peter which was created by Bernini.

Another which was unbelievable was the Tomb of Pope Alexander VII which was created by Bernini. The size of this work was difficult to grasp as it would have been overkill in any other area other than St. Peter's Basilica.

It didn't matter whether you looked down at the floors because they were amazing also. The marble came from all over the world.

 

Every once in a while you would see these ornate metal grates which allowed air from the lower levels.

In the middle of the area was a long floor blocked off from the public. We found that this was an area that was reserved for the Pope should he decide to visit the Basilica. It would be easier for security to create a safe zone for the Pope to walk in. At the entrance area is a door which only the Pope uses. Otherwise, it remains closed.

And then if you looked up, the ceilings were even more amazing.

Next blog, more of St. Peter's Basilica.

The Vatican - Part 1

Happy New Year's to everyone.

Rexie and I have had a very nice Christmas and we hope you had a nice Christmas also.

I thought I had a few minutes today so I thought I would work on the Vatican videos and pictures. As I am working on my hours of videos, Rexie mentioned that it was snowing outside. It was the first snow we had seen at home this year. What started out as flurries covered the ground over a couple of hours.The first snow of the season is always nice. Later ones we have a problem with.

Getting back to the Vatican...

As we get closer to the Vatican, we can see St. Peter's Cathedral's dome soaring in the sky.

As we get off the bus, we join the crowd walking to St. Peter's square. There are only a couple of entrances through the fence to the square and it seems that thousands are trying to get through this.

As we make it to the first building, we find out that we have to go through a security checkpoint. As a tour group, we bypass hundreds and go directly to the checkpoint. While waiting, we see some commotion and find out later that a young lady was carrying a big knife in her backpack and was trying to get through security. Just amazing...

As we get through security, we are going to tour St. Peter's Basilica. It seems like the cathedral is a far ways off as we walk along this huge walkway.
 

As we are walking along, our guide says look to the right. If we were going to visit the Pope, this is the entrance. We also get our first glimpse at one of the Swiss Guards.

We are now out of the walkway and can see St. Peter's in all its glory.

As we walk up to it, we again are in a huge walkway at the front of the Basilica.

As we walk inside, it is simply amazing what we see.

Next blog, I'll take you inside St. Peter's Cathedral.