Euro AJC GSO: Non nos visitare Vat? Est papa catholicam ?

On Wednesday we visited the smallest independant nation in Europe - the Vatican City-State (Quiz Time: What is the second smallest? Hint: We were there, too *). St Peter's Basilica is open to the public, but we pre-purchased our tickets to the Musei Vaticani to avoid the lines. Too far to walk in the 90 deg heat, we needlessly bought bus tickets and stood sweltering at the nearby stop. Needlessly because the bus has two side exit doors, everyone just climbs on for free and the driver doesn't seem to care. With effectively free transportation, we were packed in like sarde.

The Vatican Museum is made up of dozens of connected buildings and galleries - some dating back centuries, some recent. A handy map identifies the galleries and suggests several walking tours, all of course, include the Sistine Chapel (more on that later). There are more paintings, tapestries, sculptures and frescos than can be visited in one day, but some highlights follow.

One gallery, known as the "Map Room", contains 40 maps commissioned and painted around 1580, covering the most important regions of the empire. In the detail following the map of Sicily, it looks like my hometown (Tusa, but written "Tofa") is shown with it's river allowing some inland access.

A series of galleries were painted by Rafaelle and were originally used as living chambers by the Borgias.

We were surprised to find the museum includes a gallery of contemporary art, including Picasso, Matisse, and Dali. Rodin's "The Thinker" is part of the permanent collection, as well.

Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel was, as expected, spectacular. Unfortunately, photography is not allowed (nor talking and bare shoulders/knees). Quiz: Besides the Sistine Chapel, how many paintings did Michelangelo produce? ** It's an enormous space, covered from floor through ceiling with frescos. At the center of the ceiling is it's best known painting, God reaching out and touching man with an outstretched finger (remeber E.T. ?). Quiz: Who's image was used for the face of God? ***

The museum galleries are arranged in an elongated horseshoe pattern, so that you enter and exit at the same location. Unfortunately, this means a long walk back around the city walls to enter St Peters Basilica. When I looked at our tour map, it seemed we must have been close to the front of the Basilica. Everyone was exiting the Sistine Chapel through an open doorway at the rear left, but I saw another closed door at rear right. It was unguarded, so we walked through and found ourselves on a staircase leading just outside the Basilica's front entrance!