Weekend's Special: The Vatican City

The Vatican City is situated entirely within the city of Rome, sprawling over a hill west of the River Tiber, and separated from the rest of the city by a wall. Vatican City comprises St Peter’s Church, St Peter’s Square, the Vatican and the Vatican Gardens.

The Vatican City is famous for its magnificent St Peter’s Basilica. Near St Peter’s stands the Vatican Palace, the Pope’s residence. Among the principal features of the Palace are the Stanze, the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museum, containing major works of art and valuable pictures.

The Vatican City is best known to tourists and students of architecture for the magnificent St Peter’s Basilica. Visitors are normally admitted to the dome, 0800-1700.

Leading up to it is the 17th-century St Peter’s Square, a superb creation by Bernini. On either side are semicircular colonnades, and in the centre of the square is an Egyptian obelisk hewn in the reign of Caligula.

It is also possible to visit the Necropoli Precostantiniana, the excavations under St Peter’s, although permission has to be obtained in advance and is usually granted only to students and teachers with a professional interest in the work being carried out.

The Vatican Gardens can only be visited by those on guided tours or bus tours. Tickets are available from the tourist information office in St Peter’s Square; it is advisable to apply two days in advance. There is a restaurant in the museum and a bar and cafeteria on the roof of St Peter’s.

To the right of St Peter’s stands the Vatican Palace, the Pope’s residence. Among the principal features of the Palace are the Stanze, the Sistine Chapel, the Garden House or Belvedere, the Vatican Library and the Vatican Collections, containing major works of art and valuable pictures. The Museum & Treasure House includes the Collection of Antiquities, Museo Pio-Clementino, the Egyptian Museum, the Etruscan Museum and the Museum of Modern Religious Art.