Vatican City may be the world's smallest independent country,
with just 1,000 inhabitants, but it's the spiritual capital
of hundreds of millions of Roman Catholics.
The Vatican is built upon
the memory and grave of the first pope,
St. Peter, its centerpiece
St. Peter's Basilica.
Even though the Vatican City occupies
less than a square mile, this country has
its own radio station, newspaper, post office,
and a cute little train station.
Along with the grandest church on Earth,
it has a massive museum.
The Vatican is ruled both politically
and religiously by the pope.
The Vatican City is embedded in the city of Rome.
It's surrounded by a mighty medieval wall
that evokes a less-than-peaceful history.
After the fall of Rome in the fifth century,
the city of Rome eventually came under control of the pope.
In fact, for centuries,
the pope was called the "King Pope."
Little by little,
the "King Pope" established his own empire.
At its peak in the 1600s, these "Papal States,"
as they were called,
encompassed much of the Italian peninsula.
When the modern nation of Italy unified in the late 1800s,
it absorbed most of the Papal States,
including the city of Rome, but the pope held out.
For 60 years, the pope was holed up here,
behind the Vatican walls.
Finally, in 1929, the pope
and Mussolini signed the Lateran Treaty,
establishing the Vatican as its own nation.
The garden-like core of the country,
where serious administration takes place,
is closed to the public.
The Vatican military is made up of the Swiss guard.
In 1506, the pope imported mercenaries from Switzerland
who were known for their loyalty and their courage.
Today, about a hundred Swiss soldiers,
clad in their flamboyant Renaissance-style uniforms,
still protect the pope,
keep the crush of visitors as orderly as possible,
and patiently answer tourists' questions.
Piazza San Pietro sits on what was the site
of an ancient Roman racetrack.
Imagine chariots making their hairpin turns
around that obelisk.
For added entertainment during the games,
Christians were executed here.
In about 65 A.D., the Apostle Peter
was crucified within sight of this obelisk.
Peter's friends buried him in a nearby graveyard
on what pagan Romans called the Vatican Hill.
For 250 years,
Christians worshipped quietly at his tomb.
Then, in 313 A.D.
Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity
and changed the course of history.
A basilica was built here, and this became
the head of the Roman Catholic Church.
1,200 years later, the original St. Peter's
was replaced by this most glorious church in Christendom.
Upon entering, your first impression is
it's huge.
600 feet long, bathed in sunbeams.
It can accommodate thousands of worshippers.
The ornamental cherubs dwarf a large man.
As a tour guide, I've lost entire groups in here.
Visitors marvel at grand paintings
decorating the many chapels,
but they're not paintings at all.
Because oil on canvas would soon be covered by candle soot,
you won't find actual paintings in St. Peter's,
just the magnificent work of the Vatican School of Mosaics,
with thousands of different colors
in their arsenal of chips.
This scene, showing Peter looking after early Christians,
while centuries old, looks almost new.
Michelangelo's "Pieta" is adored by pilgrims and tourists alike.
Here the 25-year-old Michelangelo makes
the theological message very clear --
Jesus, once alive but now dead,
gave his life for our salvation.
The contrast provided by Mary's rough robe
makes his body, even though carved
in hard marble, feel soft and believable.
The high altar,
like so much of the art decorating the Vatican,
is another masterpiece by Bernini.
With sunlight illuminating its alabaster window,
as if powering the Holy Spirit,
it encrusts the legendary throne of St. Peter
with a starburst of Baroque praise.
Directly above the altar which marks the tomb of St. Peter
stands Bernini's bronze canopy,
and above that, Michelangelo's dome,
taller than a football field on end.
The inscription declares, in Latin, "Tu es Petrus" --
"You are Peter, and upon this rock
I will build my church."
This is the scriptural basis
for the primacy of Rome in the Catholic Church.
A viewing perch
gives travelers a close-up look at those huge letters
and a heavenly perspective into the church.
From the rooftop,
you can size up the dome you're about to climb.
For a close-up look at
Michaelangelo's dome-within-a-dome design,
climb 300 steps to the cupola.
The view from the top is unrivaled,
both of Rome in general and of the Vatican grounds.
You can survey the entire country from this perch.
The long rectangular building is the Vatican Museum,
with the adjacent
Sistine Chapel --
perhaps the richest collection of Western art anywhere.
Over the centuries, the popes have amassed
enough art to fill eleven miles of museum hallways,
sumptuously decorated with precious tapestries,
dramatic frescoes, and ancient statues.
The museum features art from every age.
Its exquisite painting gallery includes
Raphael's much-loved "Transfiguration."
Halls and courtyards are littered with
Ancient Greek and Roman masterpieces
like the "Laocoön,"
so inspirational to the great masters of the Renaissance.
And the pope's apartments tell Christian history.
This is the battle in which Emperor Constantine
was led by angels and a holy cross
both to a key military victory
and to his own religious conversion.
And these rooms celebrate pre-Christian philosophy.
Here Raphael paints "The School of Athens,"
a who's who of ancient Greek intellectual heroes,
many painted with the features
of Renaissance greats -- Leonardo,
Michelangelo,
and a self-portrait of Raphael himself.
Of course, there's much more, as we've just
scratched the surface of this vast collection.
If you're pondering eternity,
try covering the Vatican Museum thoroughly.