The Vatican & St. Peters Basilica - Rome, Italy

And as for the square I'm standing in... Vatican City.... Situated within the city of Rome, the Vatican is the world's smallest state...


St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican are behind me... A lil' guy named the Pope runs the show there. It houses a lil' something called the "Sistine Chapel", you may of heard of it?

Some talented artist dude who went by the name Michelangelo had something to do with... Perhaps, you may of heard of him too? The Sistine Chapel ceiling, painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512, at the commission of Pope Julius II, is one of the most renowned artworks of the High Renaissance. Contrary to popular belief, he painted in a standing position, not lying on his back. According to Vasari, "The work was carried out in extremely uncomfortable conditions, from his having to work with his head tilted upwards"

You may also notice in one the pictures... the "School of Athens"..... for those of you that aren't into artsy stuff... it was also used on the cover of Guns N Roses "Use Your Illusion" album...


The School of Athens, or Scuola di Atene in Italian, is one of the most famous paintings by the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael. It was painted between 1510 and 1511 and located in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican.

You'll also notice the window where the Pope like's to hang out from time to time in one of the pictures...

All the Popes are buried beneath this circle inside St. Peter's Basilica.

As for the toe picture... well it was hanging out in one of the hallways of the Vatican and it made me laugh.

As for the view of the square, that was taken on the "front porch" of St. Peter's Basilica. The square is dominated by the largest church in the world: St. Peter's Basilica. The dome was designed by Michelangelo.

I also learned while in the Sistine Chapel that each color used has a certain meaning as well as many other things in each painting, which I did not know before, apparently there is a book out there that will explain in detail what everything means (I forget its name), but as for my tour... I learned that a cat represents "THE DEVIL"... so watch out all you cat people.

P.S. Go to Rome.

Cheers,
WMMc