Day 5 in Rome: A Day in the Vatican | Espinosa on Board

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29th October 2017

This was our 5th and last day in Rome and our last trip was in Vatican city! The Vatican City is the home of the Roman Catholic Church headquarters where you can find the central government for the church, the Bishop of Rome, otherwise known as the Pope and the College of Cardinals.

From our Hotel to Vatican, it would take atleast 40 minutes travel time thru Metro. Since it’s Sunday, it’s a great opportunity for us to see Pope even just for a glimpse and visit the Vatican Museum which is the entrance is free for every last Sunday of the month.

Important notes for the travelers:

Vatican Museum is open from Monday to Saturday at  9:00 am – 6:00 pm. Entrance fee is 17 euros per person.The Vatican Museum is free for every last Sunday of the month.Best place to buy souvenirs for your friends and family.All visitors males and females should wear as a minimum clothing that covers both their shoulders and knees. Low cut or sleeveless, shorts, miniskirts and hats are not allowed.If you are a Filipino, there’s a lot of Asian restaurants to choose from in the Vatican city.Inside the museum, photography Is allowed, but restricted.If you want to see and hear the Pope’s blessing, arrived at the St. Peter’s basilica before an hour. The Pope will be on Sundays at 12 noon if “when he is in Rome”.Don’t forget to subscribe on my Blog and enjoy my post! 📷

Vatican City

How to get there:

The nearest metro in our Hotel is Kings of Rome (Re di Roma) station, from there take the MEA Battisni then drop off at Ottaviano. Walk about 1.7 km or 25 minutes to be exact.

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Along the streets in the Vatican city, you will notice a lot of vendors selling souvenirs with a good price, so if you will visit Rome and plan to buy some souvenirs, I suggest you’ll visit Vatican because most of the souvenir shops near to our Hotel it will costs 1.50 euros per item.

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Vatican Museum

We arrived at the Vatican Museum around 11:00 am and the line doesn’t end but again and again, we we’re so lucky to get inside so quickly because of Rafael. They will allow you to go inside if you are with children ages 2 years old below, senior citizens and with special needs. The Museum is open from Monday to Saturday at  9:00 am – 6:00 pm and 17 euros for the Museum ticket but as I said earlier, the entrance for the museum is free for every last Sunday of the month and we we’re so happy (of course) we saved 68 euros (309 QR) for the four of us.

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The Vatican Museum along with the Sistine Chapel are one of the most visited spots in Rome which is extremely popular destination for tourists and indeed the history of Rome is utterly incomplete without Vatican for Popes have ruled this city and the rest of continent from this seat for 2 millennia.

Our little traveler was so busy looking at the map. Baby, where do we go next?

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The museum arts in the ceiling was spectacular!

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Our little traveler looks like a real tour guide! Haha!

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The museum was incredibly huge just like the museums we visited in Paris (Chateau de Versailles and Louvre Museum). It also has sculptures, ceramics, mummies, arts and more. 

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Sistine Chapel

This Chapel that sees herds of visitors every single day is located at the end of the tour was our last stop insidethe Vatican Museum and before St Peter’s Basilica. This was Michelangelo’s work and took us inside but since it is still a place of worship, there are security guards announcing ” no photos, no talking”, but of course everyone has their cell phones out taking pictures, which is very hard to resist in such a once in a lifetime place.

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The Creation of Adam

Of all the marvelous images in the Sistine Chapel ceiling, The Creation of Adam is one of the most deeply impressed fresco painting of Michelangelo. No wonder, for here we are given a single overwhelming vision of the sublimity of God and the potential nobility of man unprecedented and unrivaled in the entire history of visual art.

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St. Peter’s Basilica

After a couple of hours in the Museum we straight ahead to the St. Peter’s Basilica to see Pope’s blessings. He appears from the window of his apartment where he gives a short speech followed by the Angelus and ending with a blessing. But we can’t make it to the nearest point where we can see the Pope since it’s too crowded and the people tightly packed here in St Peter’s Square.

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And there he is! Where you can see the red cloth in an open window.We we’re too far but atleast we’re so lucky to be here and blessed by the Pope.

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After the Pope’s blessing, the crowd begun disappear just like a snap! We didn’t got a chance to go inside the church because the line was endless and we have no time since this was also the day of our evening flight going to Barcelona.

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As you all know, St. Peter’s Basilica is the second-largest Christian church in the world and one of the holiest sites in Christendom.

Credit to Wikipedia:  The basilica is cruciform in shape, with an elongated nave in the Latin cross form but the early designs were for a centrally planned structure and this is still in evidence in the architecture. The central space is dominated both externally and internally by one of the largest domes in the world. The entrance is through a narthex, or entrance hall, which stretches across the building. One of the decorated bronze doors leading from the narthex is the Holy Door, only opened during jubilees.

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We stuck around St. Peter’s Basilica/Square for photos and to reflect on what an amazing place we just experienced.

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Raf found a new playmate!

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Group picture before leaving Vatican.

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We also passed by the Swiss guard at the gate to Vatican City. They all have different outfits, depending on their duties, but they are all dressed in costumes originally designed in the early 1500’s.

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Pantheon

Pantheon is one of the most imitated buildings in history and such a true architectural wonder that was build by Emperor Hadrian around 126AD, however he did retain Agrippa’s original inscription. During the time of Agrippa’s structure the Pantheon was rebuilt at least twice due to fire and it is hard to know the input Hadrian’s architects would have had on the building. What is quite telling though is that it is documented that Hadrian completed the building however it is not listed as one of his works.

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How to get there:

We rode a bus from the Vatican to Pantheon: Go to the Cavalleggeri/Fornaci Bus station 64 Termini and drop off at the C.so Vittorio Emanuele/Argentina and walk for about 350 meters or 5 minutes to be exact.

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The Pantheon Fountain

At the opposite of Pantheon you will see a beautiful fountain, the Fontana di Piazza della Rotonda. And on the street side has a live music which is a great time for you to relax and to sit in the fountain while listening the instrumental music and looking all the busy crowds walking on different side of the streets.

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Trevi Fountain

An 8 minutes walk from the Roman Pantheon going to Trevi fountain and you will be mesmerized and seeing the most elegant fountain I have ever seen in my entire life!

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As you can see the statue of Ocean (Oceanus) that can be found in the middle of the fountain. He has been carried on his chariot by two horses jockeyed by two Tritons. The history says that the one horse is restless, one is calm. One Triton is strong and young and one is older and holds a twisted shell that is using to announce their passage.

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And don’t forget to toss a coin backwards over your head and make a wish!

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We straight back to our Hotel and pack our things for our evening flight going to Barcelona. We booked our ticket thru Vueling that offer cheaper price.

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And we’re ready to take off! 📷

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Have you been to Vatican city too? How was it? Share your experience as well and let us know if we missed any in the comment section below.