Italy Part 14: Vatican City - St Peter's Basilica

On the Tuesday we were in Rome, we went on a guided tour of the Vatican. It was advertised as being 3 hours long, but it ended up being over 4, and when it was over, the guide actually took those interested on a little side excursion. (We went off on our own at that point.)

This post and the next few are going to be out of order. We saw St. Peter's Basilica at the very end of our tour, but I'm posting it first. :)

The front of St. Peter's.
The very top of the dome can be seen rising above the entrance.


A partial view of St. Peter's Square.

Another view, with the ancient Egyptian obelisk in the center.
They were either setting up or tearing down for some big event.
Either way, their chairs cluttered up my picture!

There are 284 columns surrounding the Square, which was designed by Bernini in the 1600s.
The banners hanging between them are all pictures of the late Pope John Paul II.
They were there to celebrate his beatification on May 1 by the current pope.

Inside the Basilica.

Sunlight shining through one of the secondary domes.

The main altar.
See the glowing stained glass in the center?
Here's what it looks like close up:

Approaching the main dome.

A painting of St. Mark.
This painting can be seen in the top-right corner of the previous photo, too.
According to our guide, the feather Mark's holding in his hand is nearly 9 feet long!

A mosaic.

Closeup of the mosaic.

Next up: Popes and pope-mobiles!