Vatican City

Vatican City is a self-governing country inside of Rome. It is a city-state that is its own country. It is also the smallest country in terms of population and area. The pope functions as the head of state in Vatican City, but he actually has no real power. The population of Vatican city is 900; this seemingly low number is due to the lack of private residence. The Swiss guard and the pope himself are the only people who live in the city. When we visited Vatican City we saw many of the world’s greatest sites. The bulk of our tour in Vatican City was made up of St. Peter’s Basilica, Apostolic Palace, and, the Sistine Chapel.

First, we toured St. Peter’s Basilica. This church is the largest one in the world. There is not one frescoe or painting in the church. Touring the church we found out that the church is the resting place of Saint Peter. The tomb is taught to be under the entire church. Saint Peter was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus and probably the first bishop of Rome. The basilica is knows as a place of excursion for many of Peter’s followers. Michelangelo was a large role in the development of the church. He was a great architect and was one of the engineers for the construction of the building. He wished to merge the elements of the previous great churches into one grand church that would be superior to them all. He drew inspiration from St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice. The church is now considered one of the holiest Christian sites in the world and the greatest Christian church in the world.

Another great site, Apostolic Palace, serves as the pope’s residency. The Apostolic Palace is also known as the Sacred Palace and is connected to St. Peter’s Basilica. The palace is very large and consists of many different apartments for the pope and many different buildings such as museums, chapels, and offices. The first thing we saw was the courtyard of the Vatican Museum where we learnt about the Sistine Chapel. We saw many statues, notably one