VATICAN CITY

Location - Western Europe; Capital - Vatican City; Population - 800; Currency - Euro

After arriving in Rome from Libya, I headed straight for the Vatican City, in November 2007.

The Vatican issues highly sought after Euro coins, but I didn't get near one..

The construction of St Peter's Basilica took place over the 16th and 17th centuries - Vatican City

St Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

Bramante, Raphael and Michelangelo were all involved in the design of the Basilica - Vatican City

Click here for more info on St Peter's Basilica

St Peter's is said to be built on the burial site of Saint Peter, who was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus - Vatican City

The two colonnades surrounding St Peter's Square support 140 saints - Vatican City

St Peter's Square, Vatican City

St Peter's Square's southern colonnade, Vatican City

St Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

St Peter's Basilica through the columns of the colonnade - Vatican City

St Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

The Doric columns that make up the St Peter's Square colonnades - Vatican City

Looking down the Via della Concilazione to St Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

There's superb views from the dome of St Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

St Peter's Square; Via della Concilazione; which leads to the circular Castel Sant'Angelo opposite the Tiber river - Vatican City

St Peter's dome curves away to reveal the Vatican Gardens - Vatican City

The Vatican Gardens, Vatican City

The 120 metre high dome of St Peter's Basilica was completed in 1590 - Vatican City

I'm unsure what these statues are (at a level close to the base of the dome) - saints? Vatican City

Looking down on the Courtyard of the Pine Cone, part of the Vatican museums - Vatican City

The Vatican Museums - Vatican City

Visit the Vatican website for the Vatican Museums opening hours

The Vatican Museums, Vatican City

Courtyard of the Pine Cone, Vatican Museums - Vatican City

Arnaldo Pomodoro's Sphere Within Sphere, set in the Courtyard of the Pine Cone - Vatican City

Courtyard of the Pine Cone - Vatican City

Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper, in the Pinacoteca, Vatican Museums - Vatican City

The Map Gallery, or Galleria delle Carte Geografiche, Vatican Museums - Vatican City

The ceiling of the Map Gallery, Vatican Museums - Vatican City

Raphael's The School of Athens, in the Stanze di Rafaello, Vatican Museums - Vatican City

Inside St Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

Bernini's baldacchino, made from bronze - St Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

More info here

Michelangelo's Pieta, St Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

More info here

Take the stairs or lift to this point, half way to the top of St Peter's dome - Vatican City

..and look down on the Basilica - Vatican City

The dome of St Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

Vatican City walls

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LINKS

www.vatican.va - the Vatican's official site, including useful opening hours

www.vaticanstate.va

I am not responsible for the content of external websites.