The Vatican City itself is a great cultural treasure, and the buildings in the city such as St. Peter's Basilica, St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, etc. are all important architectural works in the world, including works by Botticelli, Bernini, Raphael and Michelangelo. The Vatican also has a rich library, as well as a museum dedicated to works of art of historical, scientific and cultural value.
The daily life of the Vatican has a strong religious color, every Sunday, St. Peter's Square Catholics gather, at 12 noon, as the church bell rings, the Pope appears in the middle window of the roof of St. Peter's Basilica to give a speech to the faithful, the Vatican's Swiss guards hold an oath ceremony in the San Damaso Courtyard every May 6, reciting the oath that has been unchanged for more than 5 centuries, praying that God will bless him with the successful completion of his task and that allegiance to the Pope can give his life. Every year, countless Catholics come to this holy city to visit this city of God.
The Vatican prohibits visitors or local residents from revealing above the knee in their attire as a sign of reverence for the sacredness of this city of God.
Tourists come to the Vatican, mainly to visit St. Peter's Basilica, also translated as the Vatican Basilica of St. Peter," the central church of Roman Christianity, originally built by Constantine the Great on the tomb of St. Peter, and inaugurated in 326 AD. St. Peter's Basilica is a pilgrimage site for European Catholics and the Papacy of the Pope in the Vatican, and is the first cathedral in the world. In the 16th century Pope Giulio II decided to rebuild St. Peter's Church and broke ground in 1506. During a 120-year reconstruction process, it was not officially inaugurated until November 18, 1626.
The church was originally built by Constantine the Great on the burial ground of St. Peter in 326-333 AD, called the Old St. Peter's Cathedral, and was inaugurated in 326 AD. It is built in the Romanesque and Baroque architectural styles and is the largest church in the world. Frescoes and sculptures of Domiregello and Raphael. Two thousand years ago, a simple cemetery, four hundred years later built a rectangular synagogue, later destroyed by war, a thousand years later Nicholas V issued a reconstruction order, followed by 120 years of reconstruction, designed and constructed by the best Italian architects, Bramante came, Michelangelo came, Della Porta came, Carlo Martell also came. It was officially inaugurated on November 18, 1626, and the solemn Pope Urban VIII presided over the inauguration.
The open-air square directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica is the world-famous St. Peter's Square, built in 1667 by a Neapolitan who gave eternal life to the 284 Toscara-style columns lined up in four rows on the square, and the wonderful statue of the Saint above the pillars has been telling the name of this talented architectural genius for four hundred years: Bernini, the father of Baroque art.
In front of the church is St. Peter's Square, which can accommodate 300,000 people, and in the middle of the square stands a 41-meter-high Egyptian obelisk, erected in 1856, which was carved from a single stone.
St. Peter's Square, which can accommodate 300,000 people, is 340 meters long and 240 meters wide, surrounded by two semicircular promenades, each of which is supported by 284 tall cobblestone columns, and on the top of the promenade are 142 famous statues of the church's history, men and women, with different and vivid figures.
On the left in front of the gate of St. Peter's Basilica stands a tall statue of St. Peter, who is relaxed and smiling, holding in his right hand two golden keys to heaven that Jesus gave him, and a scroll of jesus' holy will for him in his left hand. The curly hair on his head, the wrinkles on his face, the whiskers on his chin and the layers of robes on his body are all delicately and realistically carved. If you paint your face and hair in real colors, you will definitely be treated like a real person. Peter was the first of Jesus' 12 disciples, Jesus gave him the golden key before returning to heaven, Peter became the head of the Catholic Church, he came to Rome to preach, and later, the Roman emperor set fire to the city of Rome in order to marry the Catholic Church, then blamed the Catholic Church and executed Peter. St. Peter's Basilica was built in honor of Peter.
On the right side of the church gate stands another tall and elaborate statue, said to be another important apostle of Jesus: Paul. He was one of the culprits of persecution of Christians after Jesus returned to heaven, and later on the way to Damascus, he was covered with light and talked to by Jesus, so that he could know Jesus and know that Jesus was the true God. Transformed from a man who was a scourge on Christianity to the most important apostle of Christianity, Paul was the most important preacher of Christianity besides Jesus Christ.
The obelisks in the square are lined with a beautiful fountain, and the trickling spring symbolizes the water of life that God has given to the faithful. All those who walked into St. Peter's Square were touched by this grand scene.
The church was originally built by Constantine the Great on the necropolis of St. Peter in 326-333 AD, called the Old St. Peter's Cathedral, and was completed in 326 AD as a Basilica-style building. In the 16th century, Pope Giulio II decided to rebuild the Basilica of St. Peter and broke ground in 1506. During the 120-year reconstruction, Italy's finest architects Bramante, Michelangelo, Della Porta and Carlo Martell presided over the design and construction until 18 November 1626, when they were officially inaugurated, called the New Basilica of St. Peter. Important religious ceremonies have been held here since 1870. Built in the Renaissance and Baroque styles, it is the largest church in the world.
The church takes the name of St. Peter, the chief disciple of Jesus, whose name is jesus, meaning "rock," meaning that he will be the cornerstone of the church. After Jesus ascended to the throne, Peter preached as Jesus' heir, and in 64 AD he was killed by Emperor Nero in Rome. After Peter's martyrdom, he was revered as the first pope, and the subsequent Catholic emperors were regarded as the living representatives of Christ as the heirs of St. Peter.
The façade of the cathedral is magnificent, the façade is 115 meters wide and 45 meters high, symmetrical on both sides of the central line, 8 columns stand symmetrically in the middle, 4 square columns are lined up on both sides, there are 5 gates between the columns, there are 3 balconies on 2 floors, the middle one is called the blessing balcony, the balcony door is closed on weekdays, and the pope will appear on the blessing balcony during major religious festivals to bless the believers who come. In the middle of the flat roof of the church stands a statue of Jesus, flanked by statues of his 12 disciples lined up, and the tall dome is beautifully decorated.
St. Peter's Cathedral is now the largest church in the world, with a total area of 23,000 square meters, the main building is 45.4 meters high and about 211 meters long, and can accommodate nearly 60,000 people to pray at the same time, but they must be neatly dressed and pass the security check to enter the church.
There are 5 doors under the main hall, and tourists usually enter the middle gate. If given the opportunity, the faithful can enter the main hall from the holy door on the right, but this will take only once in 25 years. According to the regulations, every 25 years of Christmas night, the holy door is opened and led by the pope into the church, which means to enter heaven. The other three gates are the "Gate of The Sacraments", the "Gate of Good and Evil", and the "Gate of Death".