Vatican
The Vatican, the center of the Roman Catholic church and the smallest sovereign country in the world. St. Peter’s Basilica and St. Peter’s square sit at the center of the city-state, but churches and catacombs around Rome are considered church property. The most significant of the churches are the four Papal Basilicas, San Giovanni in Laterano, St. Peter’s, San Paolo Fuoiri Le Mura and Santa Maria Maggiore.
The Vatican by night
Christmas season 2018
Each year a presepio, or nativity scene, sits in the middle of St. Peters Square. The 2018 version was made of a sand sculpture.
You can take an elevator (for a fee) to the roof of the basilica. from there you can enter the inside of the dome for amazing views of the inside of the church. If you are even more adventurous, you can continue up the stairs(300+) inside the dome to the top for views of all of Rome.
Papal Basilicas
These are the four Papal Basilica in Rome. St. Peters is the biggest and of course best know. However, San Giovanni in Laterano is actually the Cathedral of the diocese of Rome, the home of the bishop of Rome, The pope and the mother church of the Catholic church.
St. Peters
St. Peter’s is the largest church in the world. The original basilica was constructed by Constantine starting in about 330 A.D. It was torn down and replaced by the current basilica starting in 1502. It took 120 years to rebuild, finally consecrated in 1626. The main altar is located over the location where St. Peter was buried. Many people mistakenly believe St. Peter’s is the home church of catholicism and the seat of the papacy, but that honor actually belongs to San Giovanni in Laterano.
Inside the church. Look for markings on the floor of the nave that indicate where other great cathedrals around the world would fit inside.
There are many what appear to be enormous paintings throughout the church, however, they are not paintings, but micro mosaics
Views inside the dome
San Giovanni in Laterano
It is the oldest of the Papal Basilicas and is an archbasilica, the original basilica being dedicated in 324 ad. on the site of an earlier Roman fort which was given to the church by Constantine. The current church was built after a fire, after an extended time, it was completed at the beginning of the 18th century. Along the sides of the main church are niches containing statues of Paul and all of the apostles except Judas. Above the altar is a box containing the skulls of St. Peter and St. Paul, their bodies are in their respective churches. Across from the Basilica is a chapel which houses the Scala Sancta, the holy staircase, see below.
Scala Sancta
The Scala Sancta – The holy staircase. The stairs were brought to Rome by Constantine’s mother, St. Helena from the governor’s palace in Jerusalem and are said to have been walked on by Jesus during his passion. They are very worn and have been covered by wood for over 300 years. They were recently uncovered briefly to allow cleaning. The stairs cannot be walked on, pilgrims will climb the stairs on their knees, saying a prayer at each step. At the top of the stairs is a small chapel which contained the churches most important relics until the construction of the current St. Peter’s Basilica.
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