My Vatican City photos

[editor]

Here's some pictures I took this spring in Vatican City. Most of it's what you expect -- Saint Peter's Basilica, the Vatican Museum, etc... The orange building is the Brazilian embassy to the Vatican.

[CDeb]

WOW!

Thanks for sharing these.

Some of your photos of the St. Peter's exterior do a fantastic job of conveying a sense of scale.

[Porchman]

Thank you for posting these, E. I agree with CDeb that you really captured the scale of the Basilica. You also got some great shots of the enormous frescoes. And now I have the answer to the question that has been nagging at me - what do the Swiss Guard wear in the rain? I should have known it wouldn't be stripy camp ponchos.

[editor]

Thanks for the compliments. I never really gave Italy much thought as a travel destination, but after visiting for work I desperately want to go back.

You could do an entire week just in Vatican City. The frescoes I showed above are in the Vatican Museum. They go on for what seems like miles.

There are no paintings in Saint Peter's Basilica -- only mosaics. It was wisely decided when it was being built to only allow mosaics because they could be cleaned of candle soot and repaired after earthquakes. The Vatican has an entire school that teaches people how to design, construct, and repair mosaics.

I must, however, express my disappointment in my fellow tourists. They act like animals in what are, to many, sacred spaces. I saw two women in their 40's get into an all-out slug-fest in one of the hallways leading to the Sistine Chapel because one cut in front of the other in line. Disgraceful.

[flipper]

Dagum you've got a wide lens. Good shots.

Headline: Foreign architecture photographer dabbles in photojournalism

flipper

[Daniepwils]

I must, however, express my disappointment in my fellow tourists. They act like animals in what are, to many, sacred spaces. I saw two women in their 40's get into an all-out slug-fest in one of the hallways leading to the Sistine Chapel because one cut in front of the other in line. Disgraceful.

LOL wow that is sad. To actually get in a fight over who gets to enter a chapel first. I bet they were American too.

[editor]

LOL wow that is sad. To actually get in a fight over who gets to enter a chapel first. I bet they were American too.

Albanian, actually. Rome is overflowing with them. Which is funny because an Albanian friend I have here says that her relatives in Albania look down on Italy like it's some kind of trashy place. She's always wanted to go to Rome, but knows her family will give her a hard time about it. Go figure.

[crunchtastic]

Thanks, ed! The first place I ever set foot in oustide the U.S. (not counting Mexican border towns) was Rome. Your photos remind me of how much I loved it. I remember spending an entire day in the Vatican museum, and could have gone back another 2 days.

[lockmat]

Here's some pictures I took this spring in Vatican City. Most of it's what you expect -- Saint Peter's Basilica, the Vatican Museum, etc... The orange building is the Brazilian embassy to the Vatican.

Thanks for the pics. Even though I'm not catholic, that was the best place I saw on my Europe trip. Very awesome.

What is it that on the ground? I forgot. I remember seeing that and thinking it had great meaning.

[editor]

Thanks for the pics. Even though I'm not catholic, that was the best place I saw on my Europe trip. Very awesome.

What is it that on the ground? I forgot. I remember seeing that and thinking it had great meaning.

Dunno. To me it symbolizes Christianity rising to replace the Roman gods, but I don't know for sure. Next time I'm at the library I'm going to look for a book explaining the art in the Vatican Museums. I bet it will be huge!

[lockmat]

Dunno. To me it symbolizes Christianity rising to replace the Roman gods, but I don't know for sure. Next time I'm at the library I'm going to look for a book explaining the art in the Vatican Museums. I bet it will be huge!

for some reason i'm thinking it was a jackass or a lamb. totally different i know, but i just cant remember.

[Geoff8201]

Love these photos Editor.

I dunno what this will say about me, but after I read and saw Angels and Demons it gave me the desire to want to see Vatican City. As much as the Vatican was against that book/movie it probably did do a lot to boost their tourism. Hopefully in a year or so I'll do an Italian tour depending on finances at the time.

The one thing I would do first is take an art history class or get a book and read it thoroughly on the paintings, sculptures and integrated art in the buildings. Knowing the back story on what your seeing, and not reading a condensed version on a plaque makes the experience a thousand times richer.

[lockmat]

Love these photos Editor.

I dunno what this will say about me, but after I read and saw Angels and Demons it gave me the desire to want to see Vatican City. As much as the Vatican was against that book/movie it probably did do a lot to boost their tourism. Hopefully in a year or so I'll do an Italian tour depending on finances at the time.

The one thing I would do first is take an art history class or get a book and read it thoroughly on the paintings, sculptures and integrated art in the buildings. Knowing the back story on what your seeing, and not reading a condensed version on a plaque makes the experience a thousand times richer.

It may have done some good, but I think there's more tourists than there are residents in that area. At least, that's what it seems like.

[Porchman]

What is it that on the ground? I forgot. I remember seeing that and thinking it had great meaning.

for some reason i'm thinking it was a jackass or a lamb. totally different i know, but i just cant remember.

It's centered on the crucifix. It's likely a lamb.

[editor]

I dunno what this will say about me, but after I read and saw Angels and Demons it gave me the desire to want to see Vatican City. As much as the Vatican was against that book/movie it probably did do a lot to boost their tourism. Hopefully in a year or so I'll do an Italian tour depending on finances at the time.

Broadly speaking, the Vatican doesn't really come out forcefully against books or movies much anymore. Not really since the 60's. It has better things to do. A lot of people assume that "The Church" is against something or other when often either nothing has been said, or the words of one person are improperly attributed to the entire organization.

The Angels & Demons film was a good example. The movie studio kept putting out press releases talking about the big "controversy" over the film and that the Vatican "refused" to let it film in Vatican City.

Well, having worked places where film crews were working and having been to the Vatican, I can totally understand why the Holy See wouldn't want the disruption. There's not a lot of room there for filming a big-budget movie and the crowds are massive even on an ordinary day. It would be a nightmare to control and ruin the experience for a lot of people. I've told TV crews before that they can't film in my apartment, I don't see why the Vatican should be obligated to let every film crew in that asks.

As for the film, it wasn't anti-Catholic or anti-Vatican or anything. In fact, it was pretty pro-Vatican. There was no "controversy." But the PR firms needed that word in order to get headlines, so the filming location was used as a manufactured controversy.