Tangeland: The Fugates are coming! Part 7 - Rome (St. Peter's Basilica)

Much of our time in Rome was spent dodging rain drops. Luckily a lot of the rain fell while we were in the Vatican Museum and St. Peter's Basilica. Actually, even though we got wet for a while, we lucked out in avoiding the rain. I think the weather actually became pretty nice the next day.

Here's a view from inside the Vatican Museum of the rainy day in Rome.

From the museum we walked around the block to St. Peter's. Of course it's a pretty big block. Vatican City is the smallest country in the world, both in population (about 900 people) and size (about 110 acres), and is just a walled enclave within the city of Rome. And here's the wall to prove it. Along this strip of road there are a bunch of freelance history and art guides who try to get you to purchase their services in the museum or church. I just thought it was kind of sad seeing these people (art and history people like Sarah and I) standing out in the rain trying to make some money. Luckily we have a built-in tour guide, and we don't have to pay her.

Here's St. Peter's Square, out in front of the basilica. In this picture I managed to just miss the obelisk in the middle of the square. The Roman Emperor Caligula brought the 13th century B.C. red granite obelisk to Rome in A.D. 37.

Okay, I figured that I needed a better picture. So here's one that I guess I could have taken if we had climbed to the top of the dome again. But we didn't. I need to do that again, now that I have a camera.

Here are members of the Swiss Guard who protect the Vatican. The popes recruited Swiss mercenaries for defense a long time ago, then Pope Julius II founded the Swiss Guard in 1506 as the personal bodyguards of the pope. They probably have the toughest looking uniforms of any fighting force on the planet.

After passing through security we made it inside. The church is huge. It has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world, and on the moon. It can hold 60,000 people. It was completed in 1626.

Here is Michelangelo's Pietà. He made it in 1499, and it is absolutely beautiful.

A little bit of the open space down the side aisle.

Here's good ole' St. Peter. I rubbed his foot, as others were doing and I had done before, but I did not kiss it, as others were doing. I think there's probably a Peter Rabbit/foot rubbing joke in there somewhere, but I'm not going to look for it. I have standards.