St. Peter’s Square and the Basilica without Tourists – Rome (Italy) #3
Did you like the photo highlighted at the beginning of this article? That’s what it looks like when Rome is empty of tourists. In other words, happiness!
After “privatizing” the Sistine Chapel, we walk along the Vatican walls to reach St. Peter’s Square, empty of tourists.
Part 1: Travel Diary
Part 2: Practical Tips
Part 1: Travel Diary
Many of you liked this picture on Instagram so I give it to you here. This dress was custom made in Vietnam, I love it because I don’t need to iron it 😀 it is particularly compatible with our nomadic lifestyle. It looks too good on the pictures. The hat was bought from a street vendor 10 meters away for 5€ (after negotiation). So much for the little Italian touch.
There are two fountains on either side, but they are less beautiful and less impressive than the other fountains in Rome. Here, the water from the fountains is always transparent, there are many small fountains with drinking water, very fresh. You never need to buy water, you just have to come with a bottle and fill it at the fountains, that’s all.
If you can walk quietly on St. Peter’s Square, to enter the basilica, you have to stand in line, have your temperature taken and scan your belongings. There is no waiting as there are very few tourists, but the dress code is important (no bare shoulders & legs). I thought that men in Bermuda shorts would be forbidden to enter, that’s why JB braved the heat since this morning with pants, but the guards seem to be nicer to men, allowing Bermuda shorts. It’s unfair but for the women it’s stricter, if we see a few centimeters of knees it can pass but it’s not easy. On the other hand, miniskirts or tank tops are out of the question and street vendors will be very happy to sell you a cheap scarf to cover you ladies.
The place where the assassination attempt on John Paul II took place (on the right side) is indicated on the pavement of St. Peter’s Square by a small white plaque, otherwise it is easy to miss it. It is a little hidden between two barriers.
This place is huge, it takes long minutes to cross it from one end to the other. The open shape of this square symbolically represents the will to receive the faithful with open arms.
Here is the square seen from afar from the Sant’Angelo castle.
And the square as seen from St. Peter’s Basilica.
St. Peter’s Basilica
The basilica is very high and we break our necks trying to admire its ceiling.
As soon as you enter, you are captivated by the ceiling (which no one looks at because it’s just the entrance).
Then, we enter this immense space: each centimeter is decorated, gilded… the size, spectacular, reminds us much of the mosque of Hassan II in Casablanca which impressed us a lot. In the center, one finds a small staircase leading to the crypt, and more precisely the tomb of Saint-Pierre.
The Saint-Pierre pulpit would be embedded in the middle of this wooden structure (1st photo below). The feast of the pulpit of Saint Peter takes place on February 22nd.
We have to go in and out several times because we can’t find the tomb of John Paul II. In fact, it isn’t very far from the Pièta.
The crypt / necropolis can be reached via a small, rather discreet staircase on the left side. Do not zap it.
There is also the Vatican Treasury Museum to visit, inside the basilica itself. Access is on the left side of the chapel at the back (access through the sacristy door). It’s not super easy to find but don’t hesitate to ask because it’s so big that you can miss it. We cannot take pictures inside. It is necessary to find :
- Funerary monument of Sisto IV (a gift that was never used)
- The cross that would have contained a piece of the true cross of Christ
- The relics of the Virgin and St. Peter
- The enormous hat reserved for the statue of Saint Peter
- A Chair
Not being a Christian, I am not very impressed by these objects but more impressed by the gifts made to the popes over the centuries, testifying to the level of the goldsmiths and jewelers. We can see for example that their manual work is excellent, but the progress brought by machines to our days is considerable, especially on the cutting and polishing of precious stones.
There are frescoes, sculptures to look at everywhere… and the visit ends (leaving via the necropolis) by the ascent to the dome (for a fee), something we haven’t done yet because we’ve already walked too much to the Vatican Museums. You can find the corresponding notebook here
After the visit, we observe, amused, the Swiss guards, dressed in a very distinctive way. Some of them speak French.
We quickly pass in front of the Vatican Post Office, there are only two of them, the first one in the museum and the second one just outside the Basilica. This post office is really not efficient because a poor postcard takes weeks to come in France (maybe it’s on the French side that it took time ^^). For details and prices, we wrote an article here
The Vatican Gardens
We then visit the Vatican gardens (20€/person) in a small electric car. We should have been on the left because there are more things to see, but hey… the general interest of the tour is very very limited. It’s not even particularly pretty. There are some small gardens here and there, but not only it isn’t very harmonious, but moreover it is very small and boring. The explanation can be listened via headphones (sometimes it doesn’t work very well). In short, zap this visit. I show you the three best pictures below.
Here you go, I hope you liked this travel diary. Our next article in Rome, it is here
Part 2: Practical Tips
For more tour ideas, or to book your tickets or guided tours, check out the offers of Civitatis and Viator (a Tripadvisor company) in Rome
- Dress code: covered shoulders & legs to visit the Basilica (Bermuda shorts are tolerated for men)
- Entrance to the Basilica is free of charge
- The visit of the dome is paying : 8€ to 10€/person (cash payment only)
- Museo del Tesoro della Basilica di San Pietro: 8€/person
Did you like this article? Check out our travel diaries in Italy & Rome
You will find the addresses & places mentioned in this article on the personalized Google Maps I made with my sister for Italy here.
