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Vatican
City - ITALY
Città del Vaticano
(Vatican City)
The Città del Vaticano
is the smallest country in the world. It is
the political, financial and legal seat of the
Holy See as well as its property.
It mints its own coin, prints stamps, has got
an army of volunteers from the Swiss Guards.
Its flag is white and yellow.
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Piazza San Pietro (Saint
Peter Square)
It is the architectonic masterpiece by Bernini,
who surrounded the elliptical area with
two imponent semicircles, each one made
up of four rows of doric columns. In the
inner side of the trabeation you can see
140 statues of saints standing towards the
columns. An obelisk, built by order of Caligola,
rises in the middle of the square; on both
sides there are two XVII-century fountains
made by Moderno and Bernini and at the bottom
of the square you can see the imponent Basilica
di San Pietro in Vaticano (Saint
Peter's Basilica in Vatican).
A lot of artists such as Bramante, Raffaello,
Peruzzi, Michelangelo, Vignola, etc. worked
at the construction of the Church.
The statues of Christ, St John
the Baptist and the other Apostles
by Bernini are on the facade's trabeation
whereas the statues of St Peter
and St Paul flank the flight of
steps.
You can enter the Church through five doors:
the Death's door, the Good's
and Evil's door, the Central door,
the Sacraments' door and the Saint
Door, which is opened only in the Jubilee
years.
Inside St Peter's Basilica you can visit:
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nave:
at the last pillar on the right you
can see the bronze statue of San
Pietro in trono (St Peter on the
throne) and the bright cupola
decorated with mosaics;
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right aisle:
here you can see Pietà
(Mercy) by Michelangelo and monumento
di Clemente XIII (Clement XIII's
monument) by Antonio Canova;
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apse:
there are cattedra di San Pietro
(St Peter's Chair) by Bernini, monumento
di Urbano VIII (Urban VIII's monument)
and monumento di Paolo III
(Paul III's monument) whereas on the
left side of the Basilica you can see
the tomba di Alessandro VII
(Alexander VII's tomb) by Bernini;
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Sacristy:
through it you can get to the historic
and artistic museum and to St
Peter's treasure;
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Sacred Vatican
Caves: they are under the nave;
they contain sculptures, mosaics, paintings
and tombs, among which the tomb of Pope
John XXIII, dating back to several periods.
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(Castel Sant'Angelo (St
Angel Castle))
Rome, 100 mt |
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Castel Sant'Angelo (St
Angel Castle)
Castel Sant'Angelo is visible on the right
bank of the River Tevere opposite Vittorio
Emanuele II Bridge. Emperor Publio Elio
Adriano made it build in 130 A.D. as his
own monumental tomb. However the castle
had a military function when it was included
inside the city wall in 271 A.D. . During
the Middle Ages and the Renaissance the
castle underwent several interventions which
changed it. In the second half of the fifteenth
century the castle was equipped with fortified
pentagonal-shaped walls by order of Niccolò
V and Alessandro VI and it became the Pope's
residence.
The Castle's name comes from a XVIII-century
bronze statue portraying an angel: according
to a legend an angel perched on the mausoleum
putting an end to the plague in 590.
Today it is the seat of Museo Nazionale
di Castel Sant'Angelo (St Angel
Castle National Museum): you can visit the
Roman remains of the imperial mausoleum,
the fortified castle, the picture gallery
made up of bequests from the Menotti family's
and Contini Bonaccossi family's collections.
You can also visit the pope's rooms, where
there are sculptures, paintings, furniture
and other objects. |
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Beach
hotels |
the most beautiful beaches
of Italy in the best hotels |
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