Vatican City! (not like there are other cities)
Our quick day trip through the Vatican! If you haven’t already, go check out my recent post about Italy! Whether you’ve read that post for context or not, get ready to be dropped into Rome.
We had an early (but delicious) hotel breakfast on the outskirts of Rome and took a quick taxi to the Vatican. We had a timeslot booked at St. Peter’s Basilica, so we started walking to the cathedral. Along the way, there were processions of pilgrims carrying national flags and singing some hymnal. They were each very diverse, some bowing their head in prayer as they walked, while others were casually chatting and strolling around. Eventually, we found the entrance to the Basilica. Because we had booked our time slot, we could skip a lot of the lines.
But not all the lines! To enter the Basilica and pass security, there was one larger line. It was a lot of fun looking at Google maps as we inched forward to see if we had crossed the border yet. Eventually, we crossed into the Vatican! It was extremely crowded but the volunteers were doing a good job at crowd control. Finally, we were let into the massive building.
I never felt so small until I was inside the Basilica. The high ceilings and massive gold lettering towered above us as if we were ants skittering around the marble floor. The statues and ornate gold decor were incredibly grand and painted interesting scenes, ranging from mythology to the popes of the past. This one room contained so much Christian history and so many artifacts, it was mind boggling. My friend often says this about European churches but it was especially true here: if I saw this room as a medieval peasant, I would definitely believe in god. The size of the lettering alone is something I could not get over.
Eventually, we made our way to a mini-elevator (for which we had tickets for) and got to the terrace. The views were great and featured a bookstore, washrooms (eastern and western style), a cafe, and the entrance to the stairs up to the top. We started the journey up the steep, but manageable, 300+ steps. In the middle, there was a flat section where you could walk alongside the inner perimeter of the main dome and look at the paintings above and people below. It was a good view, but we were getting pushed along by the staff in order to keep the flow of people moving. It was a “one-lane” staircase, and the staircase got narrower and sloped as we continued. I could feel the wall curving in during the last portions and it felt a little claustrophobic (akin to the Florentine Duomo staircase!). Finally, we made it to the top!
From the crowded upper balcony, you could see the entire country sprawled below you. Literally! We snapped some photos and saw a TON of stickers plastered all over the walls, including many of the signature “Nett hier” stickers that you are sure to see and recognize if you are a world traveler. Soon, it was time to go down those same steps, and slowly we made our way back to the middle balcony and eventually back to the ground floor. I was looking forward to seeing the Papal tombs below the floor of the Basilica, but it was unfortunately closed. It houses the remains and rites of dozens of past popes. Instead, we saw the changing of the Pontifical Swiss Guard, who had some crazy outfits on.
It is amazing how much history is one place, and how well-kept and preserved everything is. Religion is responsible for a lot of violence and destruction, but it is also responsible for a lot of beauty and preservation of history.
We soon left the Basilica (and the country altogether) as we wandered the streets of Rome, heading towards the Vatican museum. Our timeslot was for later in the afternoon, so we had some time to kill. Given the walking, steps, and crowds of the Basilica, we were more than happy to rest our feet with some food truck snacks and sandwiches nearby.
After what seemed like forever, it was finally time to enter the museum! At the beginning, we spent some time looking at the various artworks and sculptures, admiring the history, different art forms, and the detailed description. Slowly, but surely, our attention spans became shorter and our feet became heavier. Our main goal was to see the beautiful Sistine Chapel, and just like a grocery store tactically positioning milk and bread at the back of the store, it was the final exhibit.
While these auxiliary art pieces were beautiful, our patience started growing thin and the aches grew stronger. We, along with the rest of the crowd, soon started just skimming over the artworks as we started to jump from room to room to get to the chapel. A few skimmed rooms and staircases later, there was just a flow of people not looking or glancing at any art around them. I felt guilty for just skipping entire floors full of art, but there was simply no way to see them all, or even see 1%. After what seemed like an eternity, we finally arrived at the glorious Sistine Chapel.
I didn’t even realize it was the chapel until I looked upward and saw that famous rooftop that adorned my high school history textbooks. The chapel aspect itself was quite underwhelming, and it was more like a big room with a painted ceiling as opposed to a typical European-style chapel.
We were also told to be quiet and not take any photos, but in a room of hundreds of tourists squeezes like sardines, those directions were obviously not followed very well. After a sneaky photo and some hushed whispers about the art, we shuffled toward the exit and were led out by the staff. While seeing the Sistine Chapel was a cool experience, the whole experience was exhausting and it felt like we had walked a marathon through the museum in hunt of it.
Finally, we took a taxi back towards our hotel and got dinner at the nearby La Rosa Rossa. It felt like a local gem and was filled with Italian families and groups of friends enjoying a late-night dinner. We had some delicious pizzas and pastas, and, of course, ended the night with a tiramisu.
With a full stomach and an exhausting day behind us, I fell asleep the millisecond my head the pillow (literally – I didn’t even have time to take off my glasses!).
Takeaways
- Even though the Vatican is the smallest country in the world by land mass, the amount of walking sure doesn’t feel like it!
- The scale and grandeur of St. Peter’s Basilica is simply unmatched
- The Vatican really reminds you that Christianity is the world’s largest religion and has 2000 years of nearly uninterrupted history
- Even the most fanatic art lovers will get tired from the sheer amount of artworks the Vatican Museum
Rose-Bud-Thorn
Rose (what went well): We hit all the landmarks of this history-rich microstate, from the most famous and world’s largest church to the Sistine Chapel. It was a busy day but an efficient one!
Bud (what was good but could be improved on): Because the country is so compact and touristified, it was difficult to find food. There are definitely sit-down restaurants a few blocks away into Rome, but we settled for leftovers and food trucks given our exhaustion and tight schedule. Authentic Vatican-ese food!
Thorn (what did not go well): The sheer amount of walking in the Vatican museum after an already-tiring day was simply too much. Even the biggest walking fans (me) had had enough by the time the Sistine Chapel rolled around and it really detracted from the experience.
Rohan Chhaya 