Why
the Vatican
is special

It is not only the world headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church, it has earned four Hillman Wonders medals:

St. Peter's Basilica
St. Peter's Square
Sistine Chapel
Vatican Museums

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St. Peter's Basilica

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Artistically and architecturally, the Basilica of St. Peter's is a masterpiece. It is the central church to 500 million Roman Catholics. Click St. Peter's Basilica to learn more.

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St. Peter's Square

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This immense open space is the public entranceway to the Vatican City - and is sometimes packed with a half million people. St. Peter's Square is impressively flanked by Bernini's 17th century classical colonnades - and is centered by an Egyptian obelisk.

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Sistine Chapel

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This relatively large chapel houses Michelangelo's world famous frescos: "Genesis" (see photo detail) and "The Last Judgment". The Sistine Chapel is also renowned as being the venue where popes are chosen. Click Sistine Chapel to learn more.

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Vatican Museums

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The sprawling network of galleries collectively called the Vatican Museums is home to many artwork masterpieces and historical documents, including from ancient Egypt and the Renaissance. One room (the Sistine Chapel) wins my gold medal.

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Vatican City
tips & insights

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Best and worst
times to come

Late spring and early fall are the best times to visit. The weather is pleasant and the Vatican City is not overwhelmed with tour groups.

Avoid crowds by visiting the Vatican City (and especially its Sistine Chapel) when doors first open in the morning.

Expect thick crowds throughout the day during the Easter and Christmas periods - and during pontifical blessings, funerals and elections.

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Function

The Vatican City (also called the Holy See) is the ecclesiastical and administrative seat of the Roman Catholic Church. It has nearly a billion followers around the world.

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Vatican City's
political status

Although it is a relatively small enclave lying inside the city limits of Rome, it's an independent state.

The Vatican City is the smallest independent nation state in the world in area and population. It is also the richest state on a per capita and per square area basis.

It issues its own postal stamps and has a newspaper.

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The name "Vatican"

The Vatican partially sits on a hill that the Romans called Vaticanus. That's how it derived its name.

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Nationality of the popes

For 455 years (1523-1978) all the popes were Italian. That string was broken when a Pole, John Paul II, became pope. And, his successor, the current pope, Benedict XVI, is German.

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Vatican City
location map

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©2010 HQP / Hillman Quality Publications