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Eurotrip 2016
ROME
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
WHAT YOU NEED TO SEE HERE
The Vatican remains the home of the pope and the
Roman Curia, the government of the Catholic church.
It also is the spiritual center for some 1.2 billion
followers of the Catholic Church. The world’s smallest
independent nation-state, it covers 109 acres within a
2-mile border wall, and possesses another 160 acres
of holdings in remote locations. Along with the
centuries-old buildings and gardens, the Vatican
maintains its own banking and telephone systems, post
office, pharmacy, newspaper, and radio and television
stations. Its 842 citizens include the Pope, Church
officials, and the members of the Swiss Guard, a
security detail charged with protecting the pope since
1506. Included within the walls of Vatican City are
many places of historic significance including
St. Peter’s Basilica, built in the 1500s, which sits
over a maze of catacombs and St. Peter’s suspected
grave. In front of the Basilica is St. Peter’s Square
which is the gathering place for the public awaiting
Papal blessings. Adjacent to the Basilica is the
residence of the Pope known as Apostolic Palace
where you can see the murals of Raphael known as
the Stanzes. Also inside the palace is the Sistine
Chapel. Most famously, the Pope’s personal chapel is
home to the famous fresco painting by Michelangelo
known as The Last Judgment. The Vatican
Museums are home to many treasures of the Catholic
Church including artwork by Giotto, Leonardo
daVinci, Raphael, Lippi and Michelangelo. If there’s
time, the Vatican Gardens are meticulously kept as a
place of Papal meditation.
The Vatican’s history as the seat of the Catholic Church began
with the construction of a basilica over St. Peter’s grave in
Rome in the 4th century A.D. The area developed into a
popular pilgrimage site and commercial district, although it was
abandoned following the move of the papal court to Avignon,
France in 1309. After the Church returned in 1377, famous
landmarks such the Apostolic Palace, the Sistine Chapel and
the new St. Peter’s Basilica were erected within the city limits.
Vatican City was established in its current form as a sovereign
nation with the signing of the Lateran Pacts in 1929
T’s Trivial Things
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While Vatican City is the official name of the
political city-state, the sovereign power of the
Catholic Church is known as the “Holy See”
From AD 756- AD 1870, the Pope controlled
much of central Italy in what was known as the
Papal States, which he politically ruled.
The giant obelisk which stands in St. Peter’s Square
was actually transported from Egypt by Emperor
Caligula and is believed to be over 3,000 years old.
Popes did not actually live within the walls of the
Vatican until 1377.
It is believed that Jesus’ first disciple St. Peter was
crucified (upside-down) on Vatican Hill and buried
on the site of the Basilica which bears his name
St. Peter’s Basilica is the world's second-largest
Christian church after the Yamoussoukro Basilica in
Cote D'Ivoire.
The obelisk in St. Peter’s Square is considered a
“witness” to the crucifixion of Peter.