The Artistic Beauty of the Vatican

Der Heilige Stuhl. La Santa Sede. Le Saint-Siege. A Santa Se. It doesn't matter which language you choose or where you're from, for The Holy City will pierce the soul of any visitor that dares step onto the religious grounds.

The Vatican City is more than devout Catholics, although it does pay homage to the estimated one billion Catholics worldwide. I have to admit I was more than a little curious to see what a country owned by a religion would be like. I figured I would attend Mass and then escape the Catholicism-obsessed tourists that wander the narrow streets of the City. But one step into St. Peter's Square tore apart all previous notions of what this region would be.

The Vatican City was not all bells and whistles, although it is considered the richest country in the world when you consider the square-foot-to-countless-priceless-works-of- art ratio. Whatever you do, be sure to take an education of the region with you when you leave - the rich history of this small state truly astounds the mind.

Around 65 AD, the Romans were sacrificing Christians in Nero's Circo Vaticano, and it was probably here that St. Peter - who is widely regarded by Catholics to have been the first Pope - was executed. Approximately 100 years later the site was abandoned, but a small monument to St. Peter was erected, honoring the man deemed a martyr to the religious cause in every sense of the word.

Around 315, construction of a basilica was ordered upon the apostle's tomb. That basilica, named for the "fallen" St. Peter, was consecrated in 326. After 1000 years, the basilica was in poor shape. Yet instead of restructuring the basilica, a new one was designed and the original destroyed. The controversy over the destruction was great - the original basilica contained priceless Byzantine mosaics and other works. The restructuring took about 150 years, and when it was completed, it was adorned with the sparkling, magnificent works of artists from Raphael to Michelangelo - who designed the 390-foot dome after he was well into his 70s.

Enter the 1980s. Ambitious art mavens desperate to see the original works beneath 500 years of soot and grime from smoky candles, fragrant incense, hardened glues and various paints (most memorably those applied by Pope Pius IV, who was offended by the painting's nudity) campaigned for restoration of the Vatican's irreplaceable art. They were rewarded with an extensive but delicate cleansing of the Chapel dome, unveiling the bold, vibrant colors in paintings whose true beauty were last seen five centuries earlier.

Another famous work that has visitors waiting in lines sometimes thousands deep is Michelangelo's depiction of the Last Judgment. It's a huge painting that spans the length of an entire wall. The restoration, which took several years, was a tremendous success, bringing to life the vivid colors of the original work and helping visitors gain a greater perspective of the joy, pain and sheer majesty connected with the events depicted centuries earlier by a true "master."

You can see these works - and more - on a visit to the Sistine Chapel (the Pope's private chapel.) It's located on the northern side of the basilica. Other artists with works inside the basilica include Botticelli, Pinturiccio and Luca Signorelli.