The Vatican is a fascinating place. It’s home to one of the greatest museums in the world, has beautiful gardens, and is steeped in history dating back to the fourth century. However, there are plenty of things about this famous site that you may not know about. The Vatican is a small city-state that has its own postal service, police force, radio station, and newspaper. It’s also where the Pope lives when he isn’t traveling around the world spreading his message of peace. Visiting the Vatican can be an overwhelming experience if you don’t know much about it beforehand. There are rules and etiquette that you need to follow while visiting this ancient site. So before you embark on your pilgrimage to see where Saint Peter once walked, read these 10 Things You Never Knew About The Vatican, Rome.
Give Yourself The Best Italy Experience: 10 Great Places to Visit in Rome
Give Yourself The Best Italy Experience: 10 Great Places to Visit in Rome
Table of Contents
1. The Vatican is home to one of the most exquisite museums in the world.
When it comes to art museums, the Vatican Museums are truly unrivaled. It’s home to a vast collection of 15,000 paintings and sculptures, as well as tapestries, rare manuscripts, and even pieces of architecture. It’s a truly remarkable place to visit: The most valuable part of the museum’s collection is a painting called “The Last Judgement”, which was painted by the Renaissance artist Michelangelo. There are only a few places where you can see Renaissance masterpieces in person. The Vatican is one of them.
Give Yourself The Best Italy Experience: 10 Great Places to Visit in Rome
Give Yourself The Best Italy Experience: 10 Great Places to Visit in Rome
2. Many of the sculptures in the Vatican were taken by Rome’s previous conquerors.
The Vatican is home to sculptures from multiple civilizations, including the Roman, Etruscan, and Egyptian empires. Many of these sculptures were taken by Rome’s previous conquerors. In fact, many of the sculptures within the Vatican were taken from the city of Alexandria, Egypt. Unlike many other museums, the Vatican does not hide or attempt to disguise the provenance of their artworks. They clearly mark each piece of art and explain who created it and when. There is a sign next to the sculpture that says “Il Papira” that belonged to the king of the ancient Egyptian civilization, Ramses II.
3. The Sistine Chapel was unceremoniously conceived as a roofed-over passageway.
Sistine Chapel was created as a roofed-over passageway that connected the pope’s private residence to the papal palace. Even though it was used as a passageway, a team of artists were commissioned to paint it during the reign of Pope Julius II. The team of artists included Raphael, who was just 24 years old at the time. The Sistine Chapel is notable for being the site where Michelangelo’s most famous work, “The Creation of Adam”, is displayed. It’s also where Pope Francis holds Mass every morning.
4. There are many paintings that have been discolored due to environmental factors, but there’s no way to restore them.
Many of the artworks within the Vatican have been discolored over the centuries due to environmental factors. For example, many of the paintings have darkened due to the accumulation of dust and air pollution in the past. However, there’s no way to restore these artworks. The restoration of art has become a controversial topic in recent years. Many museums have been accused of over-restoring artwork. This process involves removing the dust and grime from the painting, which results in the artwork being much brighter than it originally was. Unfortunately, the restoration of artwork can actually alter the original piece. There are many people who would like to see the Vatican restore these discolored paintings to their original state, but the officials at the Vatican refuse to do so. They insist that they would only be damaging the painting even more.
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5. Speaking of restoring artworks, none of Michelangelo’s sculptures in the Vatican have been restored — and likely never will be.
The Vatican houses several sculptures created by Michelangelo, including the famous “Dying Slave”. Unfortunately, these sculptures are covered in dust and grime just like the paintings. However, unlike the paintings, the sculptures have not been restored. In fact, they have not been cleaned at all. The Vatican officials have adamantly refused to restore any of Michelangelo’s sculptures. They insist that cleaning these sculptures would actually damage them. This is particularly surprising considering that many of the sculptures that were created by Michelangelo’s contemporaries have been restored. Many people would love to see the sculptures cleaned, but it doesn’t sound like that will happen anytime soon.
6. The emperor Caligula transported the Vatican’s Obelisk to Rome
In 37 AD, the deranged emperor Caligula had a 2,000-year-old-obelisk shipped consigned from Heliopolis in Egypt to embellish the central barrier of his chariot racing track (the utter madman). This is the very same (now 4000-year-old) obelisk you still see before you today, and as you can value the emperor had to have a ship built especially for the task of transporting it. Caligula’s mammoth undertaking is even engrave on the obelisk itself (in Latin obviously).
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7. The Vatican had a reputation for terrible wine | 10 Things You Never Knew About The Vatican Rome
We know from a first-century poet by the name of Martial that the area around the Vatican made some of the worst wines of antiquity. “Drink Vatican wine and you’re drinking venom” (Vaticana bibis: bibis venemum), Martial wrote, presumably speaking from head-pounding personal experience.
Martial also calls out the presumably unexceptional place practice of mixing fine Falernian wine with Vatican vintage, hardly finishing that “your dinner guests might deserve it, but such a pricey jug (as Falernian) did not deserve to die.”
8. You need to reserve your ticket several months in advance if you want to visit during one of the busy times.
Vatican City is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. Many people travel to Rome and visit the Vatican, the world’s smallest sovereign state. It’s also home to the Pope, who is the leader of the Catholic Church. Vatican City is located right next to Rome. If you want to visit the Vatican, you need to book your ticket several months in advance. If you visit during one of the busier times of the year, you may have to wait in a very long line just to get inside. Most of the time, only a small number of people can enter certain areas at any given time.
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9. Due to space constraints, only a small number of people can enter certain areas at any given time.
Unlike many other museums, the Vatican has very strict rules about how many people can visit each area. Many areas are only accessible for a few minutes at a time. You need to follow the rules and stay in the marked areas if you don’t want to get kicked out. You need to be especially careful during the Sistine Chapel visit. Many people don’t realize that it’s a guided tour, and they try to wander around on their own. If you want to see the Sistine Chapel, you need to stay with the tour guide at all times.
10. Be sure to check out this guide before you visit! Don’t forget your bathing suit: The Vatican has its own private beach!
If you’re lucky enough to visit the Vatican during the summer months, you may notice a beach-like setting where the Vatican Gardens meet the River Tiber. There’s a small beach where you can visit and swim in the river, as well as sunbathe in the grass. There’s even a small concession stand that sells drinks and snacks! A lot of people don’t know about this hidden gem, but it’s definitely worth checking out.
Finally, Even after reading this guide, you may still find yourself overwhelmed once you get there — which is totally normal!
When visiting a place as historically significant as the Vatican, it’s nearly impossible not to feel overwhelmed. There are so many things to see and so little time to see them. However, if you follow these rules, you’ll be able to take it all in and make the most of your visit to one of the most fascinating places on Earth. I hope you will like this post 10 Things You Never Knew About The Vatican, Rome.
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