Vatican City
Today, we ventured out to Rome! We arrived by train from Venice, and it was apparent that Megan was the most excited to step foot in Rome! Our first destination was Vatican City- a wall enclave in the city of Rome.
It is 110 acres in area, and has an approximate population of 842. It is known as the smallest independent state by both population and area. There is so much to do in Vatican city, so we all decided to explore for a day and a half. We had looked around the day before once we got off our train and dropped our stuff off in our hotel room. We stayed at a hotel called Orange Hotel Rome that was fairly close to the city. We were able to find lots of places to eat near or inside the city. We ate at Osteria delle Commari. We tried the tuna balls in tomato sauce called the "Polpettine di tonno con ristretto di pomodoro". In the city we explored the gardens.
The gardens are a trademark of the city. The garden and parks are urban and private. They are very popular because they cover half of the city. In addition they relate closely to the history because they were established during the Renaissance and Baroque era. Many of the fountains and sculptures from this era still adorn the gardens today. There are also many springs and flora surrounding the area. We especially liked walking around to see the beauty and sculptures in the garden. Our next stop in the city was to the Sistine Chapel.
After Kara kept nagging us about the fact she did her historical ad on Michelangelo, and wrote about him in an essay, we had to go to the Sistine Chapel. After being enlightened about Michelangelo and his masterpieces thanks to Kara, we were drawn to visit the chapel. The paintings on the ceilings were magnificent, and we were so astounded to see the architecture of the chapel in person. Later, towards the end of the day we went to the Apostolic Palace.
The palace is the official residence of the pope, and Kara was the most excited to go and search around! The palace is also known as the Papal Palace and Palace of the Vatican. The palace also has various government offices, a library, and some apartments.
The Raphael rooms are some examples of the apartments. This was the public part of the palace that we could really step into and look around. They are famous for the frescoes done by Raphael.
The books in the Vatican library were interesting to read, as they contained much information about the city of Rome and the Vatican city itself.
We had a great time exploring the city,and had a wonderful first day!
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