Vatican City

The Vatican City is a city state that came into existence in 1929 and is thus clearly distinct from the central authority of the Roman Catholic Church, known as the Holy See, which existed long before 1929. Writings and documents of the Vatican City are published in Italian, whilst documents of the Holy See are issued mainly in Latin.

As a travel destination, the Vatican City has a number of draws for the tourist. Aside from being the home of the Catholic church and its attraction to those of the Catholic faith, the Vatican is also abundant with art and treasures, most of which can be seen from the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, St Peter\'s Square and St Peter\'s Basilica which form the main tourist attractions of the Vatican City.

Vatican Museums: The Vatican Museums are among the greatest museums in the world, since they display works from the immense collection built up by the Roman Catholic Church throughout the centuries. The museums can be traced back 500 years and contain religeous and ancient roman sculptures, art and treasure throughout history.

Sistine Chapel: The Sistine Chapel is arguably the most famous chapel in the world. Its fame rest on its architecture and its location within the Apostolic Palace (official residence of the Pope). The architecture and paintings of the Sistine Chapel were created by the greatest renaissance artists including Michaelangelo, Raphael, Bernini and Sandro Botticelli.

St Peter\'s Basilica: The Basilica of St Peter is one of four papal basilicas or \'major basilicas\' of Rome. It contains the largest interior of any Christian church in the world (holding 60,000 people) and is regarded as one of the holiest Christian sites. In Catholic Tradition, it is the burial site of its namesake Saint Peter, who was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. In addition to the Basilica\'s religeous attraction to tourists, the architecture of the building is widely regarded as the greatest of its age.

St Peter\'s Square: is located directly in front of St Peter\'s Basilica and was designed so that the greatest number of people could see the pope give his blessing, either from the middle of the facade of the church or from a window in the Vatican Palace. The Square itself is lined by columns, sculptures and statues. Its architecture and design are iconic and form the most visited site of the Vatican City.