Happy 500th Birthday

Ascending up the final steps of the stairway, I could sense the growing excitement of the crowd.  Throughout the day, ones mind becomes overwhelmed with numerous sculptures and frescos, with the anticipation of the final room keeping everyone moving forward.  Walking into the chapel, you are immediately drawn to the work of art spread across 1,100 square meters (12,000 square feet).  Due to the age (500 years old on Nov 2) and sensitivity of the paint to dust, heat, and light, the room is air conditioned, and the windows are covered.

Arguably the most famous chapel in the world, the Sistine Chapel lies within the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope in the Vatican City.  Michelangelo Buonarroti was commissioned by Pope Julius II in 1508 to repaint the ceiling of the Chapel.  While it was originally painted as golden stars on a blue sky, Michelangelo was commissioned to paint only 12 figures, the Apostles. He turned down the commission because he saw himself as a sculptor, not a painter. The Pope offered to allow Michelangelo to paint biblical scenes of his own choice as a compromise. After the work was finished, there were more than 300 figures displaying the creation, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and the Great Flood.  The ceiling work was completed between 1508 and November 2, 1512, with The Last Judgment being painted by Michelangelo between 1535–1541. For 500 years, the ceiling has withstood the test of time, through natural disasters and conflicts, and is widely believed to be Michelangelo's crowning achievement in painting. 

One of the primary functions of the Sistine Chapel is as a venue for the election of each successive pope in a conclave of the College of Cardinals. On the occasion of a conclave, a chimney is installed in the roof of the chapel, from which smoke arises as a signal. If white smoke appears, created by burning the ballots of the election, a new Pope has been elected. If a candidate receives less than a two-thirds majority, the cardinals send up black smoke—created by burning the ballots along with wet straw and chemical additives—it means that no successful election has yet occurred.

Visited by over 5 million people last year (15,000 per day), the Vatican Museums are among the greatest museums in the world, displaying works from the immense collection built up by the Roman Catholic Church throughout the centuries, including some of the most renowned classical sculptures and most important masterpieces of Renaissance art in the world.  The four Raphael's rooms in the Palace of the Vatican form a suite of reception rooms, the public part of the papal apartments. They are famous for their frescoes, painted by Raphael and his workshop. Together with Michelangelo's ceiling frescoes in the Sistine Chapel, they are the grand fresco sequences that mark the High Renaissance in Rome.

Saint Peter's Basilica is the church located within Vatican City which remains one of the largest churches in the world and is regard as one of the holiest Catholic sites.  In Roman Catholic tradition, the basilica is the burial site of its namesake Saint Peter, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus and, also according to tradition, the first Bishop of Rome and therefore first in the line of the papal succession. Tradition and some historical evidence hold that Saint Peter's tomb is directly below the altar of the basilica.  The dome of St. Peter's rises to a total height of 136.57 meters (448.1 ft) from the floor of the basilica to the top of the external cross. It is not only the highest building in Rome, but the tallest dome in the world.

The Pietà (1498–1499) is another masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture by Michelangelo, housed in St. Peter's Basilica.  It is the only piece Michelangelo ever signed, which depicts the body of Jesus on the lap of his mother Mary after the Crucifixion.

Vatican City is an impressive place to visit (it is actually its own country).  The history, numerous artifacts and frescos in the museum, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica and Square, leaves your mind overwhelmed with information, but definitely worth the wait in long lines (which were much shorter than during the peak summer travel).