Inside the VATICAN @ The World's Largest Church!

So here goes my train ride adventure from Civitavecchia to San Pietro Station where the St. Peters Square, Vatican City is located. Thanks to Frommer's for making it manageable to go there on my own and not to mention there's a large number of Kababayans pretty scattered around Italy. The phenomenal experience of being in this most-sought after European destination and hearing mass with the Pope send chills down to my spine... that remarkable feeling that just gives you so much HAPPINESS and TRANQUILITY.

My Ticket from Civitavecchia Port to San Pietro Station

This way going inside the Vatican with hundreds of tourists from around the world

Entrance to the Magnificent Vatican

Vatican, the World's second-smallest sovereign independent state which only have a few hundred citizens and is protected by its own militia, the curiously uniformed Swiss guards.

The only entrance to the Vatican for tourist is through one of the glories of the Western world: Bernini's St. Peter's Square (Piazza San Pietro).

As you stand in the huge piazza, you'll be in the arms of an ellipse partly enclosed by a regal Doric-pillared colonnade.

 two 17th  Century Fountains flanking the Egyptian obelisk

 Straight ahead is the facade of St. Peter's Basilica (St. Peter and Paul are represented by statues in front, with Peter carrying the keys to the kingdom),

Atop it stands a line of 140 crowd depicting saints, martyrs, popes, and the founders of the religious orders of the Catholic Church.

and, to the right, above the colonnade, are the dark-brown buildings of the papal apartments and the Vatican Museums. 

At noon on Sunday, the pope speaks briefly from his study window and gives his blessing to the visitors and pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square. 

Hearing an actual mass from the Pope send chills down to my spine

The Militia or Swiss Guards

St. Peter's Basilica and St. Peter's Square are used to accommodate a large attendance. Anyone is welcome, but you must first obtain a free ticket from the office of the Prefecture of the Papal Household, accessible from St. Peter's Square by the Bronze Door. 

  

hundreds of tourists who wishes to go inside the Vatican Church

 The reasons for Martin Luther's criticism of the Catholic church of "extortion," excessive hoarding of wealth, and constant donations as the key to Heaven are easy to see: a tour through the Vatican renders a visitor literally mind-boggled, stunned, and senseless at the unfathomable wealth, beauty, and majesty of the Vatican.

 Almost no building on earth holds comparison with the lavish and ornate qualities of St. Peter's Basilica. Although other cathedrals are similar and superior in many ways (such as Esztergom Cathedral in Hungary and St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna), no such masterpiece is so meticulously perfected, shined, honed, and maintained as St. Peter's.

An Armenian Saint statue outside the Basilica with small American  scripts at its bottom

 Almost every square meter of the small nation has the ability to amaze every visitor. Each room holds treasures of such incalculable value that one can barely comprehend the previous room before entering the next.

 There are the corpses of at least two former popes inside visible for public viewing, and many more "tombs" dedicated to the popes with no bodies inside.

  

 Other rooms offer interesting visuals: massive halls and corridors are adorned atop with glorious hand-painted murals dating back some more than 500 years.  

All of these massive painted murals are not simply attractive fillers to decorate the hallways; some if not most of these are far more impressive and intricate than the famous Sistine Chapel. 

Golds, Gems, Marbles and Jewels are just everywhere.

There are an endless amount of scenes drawn by Michaelangelo in the chapel, ranging from Adam and Eve to the creation of Man by God, to the life of Mary, John the Baptist, Jesus, and the Disciples. All of the figures seem very muscular and firm, including the women considering the fact that Michaelangelo couldn't paint women.

 The basilica certainly is an architectural, economic, religious, and visual wonder almost without comparison or comprehension. SIMPLY BREATHTAKING! The Vatican was one of the greatest experiences in my life that I will surely visit again in the near future.