Vatican City

Political anomalies are my favorite kind of anomalies. Perhaps the best-known political anomaly today is Vatican City, established between Mussolini's Italy and Pope Pius XI's Rome, in which the sovereignty of Vatican City under the Pope as an independent state from Italy was realized. Suffice to say, that's pretty freakin cool. I helped Vatican City exercise this sovereignty today by sending postcards back to the USA from the Vatican post office, which is (obviously) an independent entity from the Italian postal service (it's also said to be significantly faster and more reliable than the Italian post).

Today, our goal was to see as much of this as possible. We took a bus and the Rome metro (construction of which is halted whenever ancient Roman ruins are discovered- often- hence only two Roman subway lines) and walked the rest of the way to Vatican City. We were hoping to have our passports stamped, but there was no border guard whatsoever. After a quick bite, we got into the line to see St. Peter's Basilica. Long pants were mandatory on men, and women had to have their shoulders covered- shawls were distributed to noncompliant women, and some men were turned away (possibly depending on the length of their shorts).

Wow. What a church. If you think you've ever seen anything ornate, that looks like the most depressing 60's office building compared to this basilica. It stands as an incredible testament to the history, power, and wealth of the Catholic church. Every inch of the interior is covered in marble, gold leaf, and sculpture. Dead popes have their mausoleums in alcoves off the main area, some of which have their bodies on permanent display, a la Lenin. People mill around, photographing the splendor as sunlight filters through the windows high above. Even the light seems different, quiet, in a place like this. Uncountable tour groups, led by people holding pointers on which are speared bright bits of cloth or other unique identifiers mill about from point to point. Some guides are priests, others are lay folks. Certain areas of the basilica are roped off, reserved for prayer or confession. It was amazing.

By the time we got out, it was too late to enter the Vatican Museum, home of the Sistine Chapel. We got caught in an afternoon thunderstorm, and wandered around the city, taking it all in. We intend to visit the Sistine Chapel tomorrow, along with the Roman Catacombs, and round out the day with laundry before we take our night train to Venice. Should be a blast!