The red granite Egyptian obelisk on St. Peter's Square is perhaps the most impressive monument inside the Vatican City, but before you learn about it's ancient origins and inscriptions, your guide will escort you into the vastness of St. Peter's Basilica before everyone else (skip the line, priority access tickets are included) from deep inside the Sistine Chapel, after a comprehensive skip all lines tour of the Vatican Museums. Therein, artistic and architectural marvels abound which will surely alter your perception of self and others in the immediate vicinity and beyond. In the underground area we have come to call "Vatacombs", you will walk through a rarely seen part of the Vatican where tombs of former popes lie. We then make the ascent to terra firma and St. Peter's Basilica to experience the Pieta', the famous dome designed by Michelangelo, Bernini's bronze Baldachin, and "Transfiguration" (mosaic) by Raphael.
You will become familiar with many more majestic monuments and resplendent works of art inside St. Peter's before passing through the Holy Door of the basilica. It is said that to pass through the door from the outside of St. Peter’s into the basilica per se is to pass from this world into the presence of God, just as in the old Temple of Jerusalem, the High Priest on the Feast of Yom Kippur passed through the veil covering the doorway of the Holy of Holies to enter into the presence of God to offer the sacrifice of atonement. To pass through the door is to confess with firm conviction that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Lord, and the Savior who suffered, died, and rose for our salvation. A pilgrim freely decides to cross the threshold leaving behind the kingdom of this world so as to enter the new life of grace of the Kingdom of God, so what better time to visit Rome and the Vatican than during this special and most sacred Jubilee year 2015 - 2016. Upon returning to daylight and staring up at the aforementioned obelisk, we discuss the history of the Vatican State, the Swiss Guard, and learn how, why, and when St. Peter's Square came into being.
Patriarchal Basilicas and Holy Doors of Rome continues on from the Vatican City through ancient Rome with one (1) short metro connection to San Giovanni in Laterano / Scala Santa / Cappella di San Lorenzo, and then one (1) metro ride to San Paolo (Basilica of Saint Paul outside the walls). Pleasant strolls in between times to Santa Maria Maggiore and Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, each of which are hugely significant as regards the religious and cultural history of Rome, and indeed the wider world we live in, make this tour somewhat of a historical walking tour of Rome too, above and beyond that which is concerned solely with Patriarchal Basilicas. You will be tutored about and walk through each of the Holy Doors in each basilica too. Your personal pilgrimage and celebration of the Papal Jubilee will be realized.
