Destination: VATICAN CITY
The Vatican, a sovereign state since 1929 and is ruled by the pope, Europe’s only absolute monarch. Its land mass is about 106 acres and the population is 500, and is the home of the Catholic Church. The Vatican has its own post office, banks, currency, judicial system, radio station, shops and newspaper. Enjoy a guided tour of one of the largest art collections in the world, spanning from Roman, Etruscan and Egyptian antiquities to contemporary art. Learn about the famous Popes of Rome, their love for art, their election known as conclave, and their glamorous lives in one of the most enlightened periods in Italian history, the Renaissance.
St. Peter's Basilica - St. Peter's Basilica is the largest church in the world, an amazing creation of Renaissance and Baroque architecture. The Basilica soars up 140 meters with its dome into the heavenly skies, and goes deep down into the earth, to the tomb of St. Peter, over which it was built. Some of the most priceless artwork is housed in the Basilica like Bernini's Colonnade, the Altar of Glory, magnificent mosaics, the most ancient bronze statue of St. Peter, the Holy Door, the Canopy which Bernini made with the bronze from the Pantheon, the Confession of St. Peter where his relics are kept, and the greatest of Michelangelo's sculptures, the famous Pietà.
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