Our Journey through the Vatican City

By Karen McBride
Published in the Dunndeal Gazettes January, 2024

My daughters and I recently went on an adventure to Italy. It was a long journey, but it was worth it to see the beautiful artwork and buildings created centuries ago.

We had the added benefit of knowledgeable tour guides explaining the culture and rich history of the area. One such tour was through the Vatican City. You can explore it on your own, but you may not learn the stories behind the city and its works of art. It was interesting to learn that the Vatican City is actually its own country. In 1929 it became independent from Italy under the Lateran Treaty and is ruled by the Pope. However, you don’t need to bring your passport with you when travelling from Rome, so leave it safe at your hotel!

There is so much to see in Vatican City. Here is a little about the history and a few of the highlights we encountered:

St. Peter’s Basilica

St. Peter’s Basilica, the Italian Renaissance and Baroque church, is located within the walls of the Vatican City. Construction of St. Peter’s Basilica, with its circular piazza in front and bordered by palaces and gardens, began in 1506 and was completed in 1626. The basilica is erected over the tomb of St. Peter the Apostle and is the largest religious building in the world.

As you approach the basilica, you will see 140 statues in St. Peters square of Saints and Martyrs 64 feet atop the building (each being over 10 feet tall) with 13 statues on the façade, representing Jesus and eleven of his apostles, including John the Baptist, with St. Peter on the stairs. As you enter the walls of the basilica, it is unfathomable as to the actual size of the beautiful pieces of art. Some of the statues are over 20 feet tall, including the Monument to Benedict XIV, built in 1769 by Bracci. Everything is so large, but it is deceptive to the seeing eye. Just to give you an idea of the sheer size of the church, the candles above St Peter’s tomb are 6 feet tall. The inscriptions on the walls have letters that are 7 feet tall with the lettering closest to the ceiling standing 15 feet tall. This is, of course, so that you can read it from the ground!

History of St. Peter the Apostle

Peter (formerly Simon) was one of the twelve apostles that walked with Jesus and spread God’s word throughout the land. He and his brother Andrew were fishermen and became ‘fishers of men’ when Jesus asked them to join him on his teaching journey.

Mark 1:16-17 NIV As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him.

In Luke 5 we are told of the story of how Jesus preached from Peter and Andrew’s boat. The brothers were fishing on Lake Gennesaret when they saw Jesus. After fishing all night and not catching anything, the exhausted fishermen were discouraged. After his teaching, Jesus tells them to lower their net once more and they catch a large number of fish, showing us that the Lord will provide if we just have faith and take that first step.

Even after all he had experienced with Jesus, at the time of the crucifixion he denied having known Jesus three times. Yet, in spite of this, Peter was the first one that Jesus appeared to after his resurrection. Once again, showing Jesus’ love for us and forgiveness of our sins.

Sadly, Peter died on the cross in 64 AD. Emperor Nero had him put to death after the Great Fire of Rome as he felt Christians were to blame for the fire. Peter did not feel worthy to die the same as Jesus, so he was crucified head down at Vatican Hill, which was reflected in various pieces of somber artwork. Another melancholy piece was the Pieta.

The Pieta

One of the most well-known pieces of art is the Pieta, which depicts Mary holding Jesus after he died on the cross. The heart wrenching statue was created by Michelangelo in 1499 when he was only 23 years old. Since 1972, it has been protected by bullet-proof glass. A vandal carrying a geologist’s hammer attacked the statue and damaged it breaking Mary’s arm, hand, and nose in the process. Thankfully, visitors were able to tackle him and hold him so no further damage was done to the irreplaceable artwork. It was painstakingly repaired with the shards of marble that were gathered after the attack.

The Sistine Chapel

The Sistine Chapel is well known for the beautiful frescos of Michelangelo. Photographs are not allowed to be taken. The interesting story behind these pieces of artwork is that when first asked by the Pope to do the paintings, Michelangelo did not want to do it stating he was a sculptor not a painter. But you don’t say no to a Pope, and we are all thankful that he took that step out of his comfort zone as God had a masterpiece planned.

The frescos represent creation, banishment from the Garden of Eden, the sacrifice of Noah, the flood, and the drunkenness of Noah. Michelangelo did not paint them in order so you will notice that in some of the panels the people are smaller. When he had finished two panels, he climbed down from the scaffolding and realized they were too small to see clearly from the ground, so the remaining panels have larger people in them.

Another story we learned was that a cardinal saw the paintings and didn’t like the fact that there were nudes in the paintings. Michelangelo did not take well to criticism and painted the cardinal’s likeness in hell. When the cardinal saw this and complained to the Pope, the Pope simply stated, “that’s not my jurisdiction.” So, keep that in mind, don’t ever criticize an artist as you may end up in the artwork in an unflattering state.

We were so blessed by this adventure and if you are ever in Rome, be sure to visit the Vatican City. For more information, go to https://www.britannica.com/place/Vatican-City and https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/286/.

For now, we say “arrivederci Italy (until we meet again!)”