Here I am, ready for another nice anecdote of my life as a
Wandering Writer. This time, I am going to tell you about the most famous of
the smallest Countries in the world. As
you could, perhaps, guess by the title, I am talking about the Vatican.
Now, calling it a Country is, from my point of view, a big
stretch and to be totally honest with you, I wouldn’t call it either a city, likewise San Marino.
The Vatican, resemble mostly a district of Rome, without any
border or anything that will tell you “hey you
just entered the Vatican city.”
Like some other, even bigger, countries, it doesn’t have an army, and it is protected by the Italian army, although, there
is not a formal defense treaty between
the two countries. The Pontificate Swiss Guard is
a military corps of the Holy See, and its main responsibility is to provide
security for the Pope. Historically speaking, the Swiss Guard is a military
corps of the Holy See responsible for the personal security of the Pope, and
resident in the state. Soldiers of the Swiss Guard are entitled to hold Vatican
City State passports and nationality. Swiss mercenaries were historically
recruited by Popes as part of an army of
the Papal States, and the Pontifical Swiss Guard was founded by Pope Julius II
on 22 January 1506 as the pope's personal bodyguard and continues to fulfill
that function. It is listed in the Annuario Pontificio under "Holy See," not under "State of Vatican City."
A personal note on the Swiss guards is that they wear very funny uniforms, being able to keep a
straight face (and generally they are
also quite cute).
The biggest attraction
and the main reason to pay a visit to the Vatican is the St. Peter’s square and the Church, together
with the museum. The rest of the city reflects the amazing beauty of the host
city, Rome, the Città Eterna
(eternal city).
The St. Peter's church will leave you literally speechless
for the beauty of the numberless details that will keep your eyes busy and your
imagination run at impressive speed. You will be caught in the admiration of
the richness of the décor,
the paintings, the sculptures, the architecture that
might keep you busy for hours if you want to really appreciate it fully.
Take your time, and prepare
your camera, because you definitely want to have a full experience and you want
to keep a record of that fantastic place also in your album when you return
back home.
For me, one of the main reason for visiting the Vatican once again was to see him… no, not the Pope, him:
Now I know what you are thinking, and no, I am not crazy.
The young man represented is Antinous, the young slave, and lover of Emperor
Hadrian. I literally fell in love the first time I saw him, and the melancholic
beauty expressed in every statue of him (and believe me, they are quite many),
as much as I fell in love with the story of his life.
But let's go back to the museum as there an immense collection of artifacts have been collected by the different Popes during the centuries.
The museum contains 70000 art works, of which only 20000 are exposed. Besides the art work, the architecture of the museum is one of the most notable I've ever seen.
For this reason, if you go to Italy, I strongly suggest you to visit Rome, and if you do, take definitely a tour to the Vatican, you will not regret it.
With this, I give you appointment to the next week with another journey with the Wandering Writer.
Stay tuned!!
