The Vatican is the smallest state in the world even though it is entirely surrounded by the city of Rome. The Vatican's position as a sovereign state within a state was guaranteed by the Lateran Treaty of 1929, marked by the building of a new road, the Via Della Conciliazione. On our weekend trip to Rome this past weekend, the Vatican was one of our very first stops of our walking tour. I couldn’t have been more thrilled of the news. Home to the pope, the Vatican is very sacred and holy to the Catholics like myself. The city is filled with beautiful artwork, from fresco paintings, ceilings, head stones, sculptures and national landmarks.My favorite part about my visit to the Vatican would have to be the Sistine Chapel.The Chapel is most famous for its ceiling, painted by Michelangelo which took a course of 4 years and he spent much of this time bent backwards painting on top of the scaffolding. I’ve learned so much about this chapel in history classes throughout school but pictures and facts can only go so far. Being there and in person, walking through the decorated hallways I was mesmerized by the beautiful artifacts and paintings. Fun Fact:Sistine Chapel was completely cleaned between the years 1980 to 1989. It was paid for by the camera company Fuji Film. Fuji Film now own all copyright to the paintings, and that is why there is no photography allowed in the Sistine Chapel.http://arthistory.about.com/od/famous_paintings/a/sischap_ceiling.htm
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