Vatican City

Vatican City is it’s own 10-acre country inside of Italy. Here you will find the Pope (living and deceased), Cardinals, and other catholic dignitaries. The famous landmarks of Vatican City include St. Peter’s Basilica and St. Peter’s Square, and the Sistine Chapel inside The Vatican. During the era when a lot of these buildings were made is also when artists, like Michelangelo, learned how to paint in 3D using highlights and shadows. So, the current Pope would commission artists to come in and paint on the flat walls and ceilings for decoration so they wouldn’t actually have to decorate. In the pictures below, you’ll see what looks like frames and crown modelings around paintings… it’s all flat. Very impressive!

In earlier times, the Pope often came from wealthy families and would use “family money” to pay for different things. To make sure people knew who was paying for such enhancements, they made sure that their family crest was visible somewhere on the project. St. Peter’s basilica took 120 years to complete – and when you consider the amount of detail EVERYWHERE – you might agree that 120 years is pretty fast all considering.

For me, Vatican City is where the biggest “wow” factor was because there is truly nothing conservative about any of it.