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Many a doctrine is like a window pane.
We see truth through it but it divides us from truth.
-Khalil Gibran
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The Vatican Museum Courtyard, with its stunning architecture and open space, really makes for a unique and breathtaking view, especially with the iconic Saint Peter's Basilica in the background.
Excerpt from Wikipedia:
The Vatican Museums (Italian: Musei Vaticani; Latin: Musea Vaticana) are the public art and sculpture museums in the Vatican City. They display works from the immense collection amassed by the Roman Catholic Church and the Papacy throughout the centuries including several of the most renowned Roman sculptures and most important masterpieces of Renaissance art in the world. The museums contain roughly 70,000 works, of which 20,000 are on display, and currently employ 640 people who work in 40 different administrative, scholarly, and restoration departments.
Pope Julius II founded the museums in the early 16th century. The Sistine Chapel with its ceiling decorated by Michelangelo and the Stanze di Raffaello decorated by Raphael are on the visitor route through the Vatican Museums. In 2019, they were visited by 6,882,931 persons, which combined made them the third most visited art museum in the world.[6] They are one of the largest museums in the world.
There are 54 galleries, or sale, in total,[citation needed] with the Sistine Chapel, notably, being the very last sala within the Museum.
La monumentale scala a doppia spirale elicoidale ideata da Giuseppe Momo per i Musei Vaticani e inaugurata il 7 dicembre 1932
Pubblicata nel numero di Luglio 2012 della rivista Fotografare.
In vetrina per la sezione Architettura nel mese di Giugno/Luglio 2012 sul sito photo4u
The Pontifical Swiss Guard (also Papal Swiss Guard or simply Swiss Guard; Latin: Pontificia Cohors Helvetica; Italian: Guardia Svizzera Pontificia; German: Päpstliche Schweizergarde; French: Garde suisse pontificale) is a minor armed forces and honour guards unit maintained by the Holy See that protects the Pope and the Apostolic Palace, serving as the de facto military of Vatican City. Established in 1506 under Pope Julius II, the Pontifical Swiss Guard is among the oldest military units in continuous operation.
The dress uniform is of blue, red, orange and yellow with a distinctly Renaissance appearance. The modern guard has the role of bodyguard of the Pope. The Swiss Guard are equipped with traditional weapons, such as the halberd, as well as with modern firearms. Since the failed assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II in 1981, a much stronger emphasis has been placed on the Guard's non-ceremonial roles, and has seen enhanced training in unarmed combat and small arms.
Recruits to the guards must be unmarried Swiss Catholic males between 19 and 30 years of age who have completed basic training with the Swiss Armed Forces.
The unit's security mission is assisted by the Corps of Gendarmerie of Vatican City.
( Wikipedia)
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If you visit St Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, be sure to look up for an amazing view. The sunlight was rays were coming through the dome when I caught this long exposure shot!
Vault above the Pieta, Fresco
The Adoration of the Cross (1629-1632)
by Giovanni Lanfranco
(stpetersbasilica.info/Mosaics/PietaChpl.htm)
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (Italian: Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica (Latin: Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal enclave that is within the city of Rome, Italy. It was initially planned by Pope Nicholas V and then Pope Julius II to replace the aging Old St. Peter's Basilica, which was built in the fourth century by Roman emperor Constantine the Great. Construction of the present basilica began on 18 April 1506 and was completed on 18 November 1626.
Designed principally by Donato Bramante, Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno and Gian Lorenzo Bernini, St. Peter's is the most renowned work of Renaissance architecture and the largest church in the world by interior measure. While it is neither the mother church of the Catholic Church nor the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome (these equivalent titles being held by the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran in Rome), St. Peter's is regarded as one of the holiest Catholic shrines. It has been described as "holding a unique position in the Christian world" and as "the greatest of all churches of Christendom."
Catholic tradition holds that the basilica is the burial site of Saint Peter, chief among Jesus's apostles and also the first Bishop of Rome (Pope). Saint Peter's tomb is supposedly directly below the high altar of the basilica, also known as the Altar of the Confession. For this reason, many popes have been interred at St. Peter's since the Early Christian period.
St. Peter's is famous as a place of pilgrimage and for its liturgical functions. The pope presides at a number of liturgies throughout the year both within the basilica or the adjoining St. Peter's Square; these liturgies draw audiences numbering from 15,000 to over 80,000 people. St. Peter's has many historical associations, with the Early Christian Church, the Papacy, the Protestant Reformation and Catholic Counter-reformation and numerous artists, especially Michelangelo. As a work of architecture, it is regarded as the greatest building of its age. St. Peter's is one of the four churches in the world that hold the rank of Major papal basilica, all four of which are in Rome, and is also one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome. Contrary to popular misconception, it is not a cathedral because it is not the seat of a bishop; the cathedra of the pope as bishop of Rome is at Saint John Lateran (Wikipedia).
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There is always a bit of a gamble to visit the Vatican museums, because you never know which rooms and departments that will be closed for the day - but if you're lucky you can at least look into the room. This is what happened with the Chariot room, also known as 'Sala della biga' (named after the Roman chariot sculpture on display here - the sculpture originally dates to the first century A.D., but it was heavily restored in 1788). This room was built in the late 18th century in a neo-classical style and also contains one of the Roman marble copies (after a Greek bronze original) of the Discobolus by Myron, found at Hadrian's villa at Tivoli. It would of course have been nice to see these pieces a bit more up close, but on the other hand this meant that you got a better understanding of the whole room and that was quite special too!