St Peters Square and Basilica

In my previous trip to Italy (about 8 or 9 years ago), in which I joined a tour group, I did visit the Vatican Museum and spent a couple of hours in there admiring all the works of art owned by the Vatican. I also went into the Sistine Chapel and absorbed as much as I could, in a few minutes, the wonderful works by Michelangelo. On top of that, I did go to the square and was privileged to be there on a public service day and saw Pope John Paul II at a very long distance.

Because there was a public service then, I could not enter the Basilica. So I told myself that one day, if I am ever in Rome, I would visit the Basilica. So here I am once again enjoying the atmosphere of St Peters Square. The square is so huge, there are so many tourists gathered here and yet once again, I did not sense any frantic pace. Everyone was just enjoying the landscape and architecture and I hope the spiritual significance of this place.

The queue to enter the Basilica was quite long but it kept moving. There is a security check where all bags and jackets are screened. As we were walking towards the entrance, I saw a couple of Swiss Army guards guarding an entrance.

Once inside the Basilica, I tried to absorb everything I saw. It is a very large church with many different altars within the church. There are a few chapels scattered throughout the church. The works of art and sculptures in the building was beautiful. The main section was cordoned off but I was near enough to get some pictures of the altar.

There is so much history in this place. I tried to visualise the Basilica being used for the official ceremonies and conducted by the Popes of the different centuries. Some of the Asian tourists just came in to take some photos and left. I just wondered how much they understood the significance of this Basilica.

So on my second trip to Rome, my visit to the Vatican is finally complete.