Third Day in Rome

We're still getting used to the Rome timezone and not sleeping very well. Nonetheless, we were up early and out the door at 8:30am. Today we took the Metro to the Vatican City to tour the Vatican Museum, St. Peter's Basilica and Sistine Chapel. Once again we met our guide, Teresa, for a four hour guided tour of the Vatican and major art works.

With online pre-purchased passes, we were able to bypass the entry lines and enter the museum complex a little before 9am. The museum complex is very large and there was no way we could see all of the exhibits within a four hour period. So, we understood that we could view major artworks and bypass others due to time constraints. We started with a tour of the Pinacoteca and then moved through other museum sections, ending with visits to the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica.

The original St. Peter's Basilica was built in the 4th century by Emperor Constantine. However, the St. Peter's Basilica you see today was built around 1500 to 1620.  It is now the second largest church in the world - exceeded only by the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro (according to Guinness World Records). The basilica is the burial site of Saint Peter, the first Bishop of Rome. His tomb is located under the alter of the basilica. A number of services are conducted by the Pope in  St Peter's Basilica and up to 80,000 people may be participating - if you include St. Peter's Square.

The Sistine Chapel is in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope in the Vatican City. This chapel is best known for its frescoed ceiling panels painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512. The chapel takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV. The chapel currently serves during religious and papal functions, such as the Papal conclave.

With our morning tour ending at 1pm, we stopped for a pasta lunch with plans to visit the Piazza del Populo. Although it was lightly raining after lunch, by the time we exited the Metro at the Piazza station, the rain was pouring. We took a short look around the Piazza and then jumped back on the Metro to return to the apartment.

During this second Metro trip of the day, I almost became a pickpocket victim. Two teenagers blocked my entry onto the Metro train as I was trying to board before the train doors closed. I noticed that one of the kids had his hand in my front pocket. Luckily, my wallet was in a zipped pocket. Just as the train doors were closing, the kids jumped off and disappeared into the Metro station. So much for excitement for the day.