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Vatican City Of Rome 's Basilica The Home Of Pope Francis

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The Sistine Chapel … St. Peter’s Square … Saint Peter’s Basilica … The home of Pope Francis., What do all these famous places have in common? They are all in The Vatican City. Vatican City, an independent state within the city of Rome, is ruled by the Pope and is the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church. (Ruhl 1) (Blake 2)
Vatican city, the smallest country, has the smallest population in the world. The Vatican stamps their own coins (Ruhl 3). The full name of the country is the State of Vatican City, and it is the spiritual and governing center of the Roman Catholic Church. Vatican is usually referred to as a City State and often called “The Holy See”. It stands on Vatican Hill in northwestern Rome, Italy west of …show more content…

The men main duty is to protect the Pope. The Swiss Guards wear colorful uniforms protecting the Guards since 1506 (Klein 3). To be a Swiss Guard, have to be Catholic and take the oath of loyalty to the Pope. The men have to be at least 5’8.5 inches tall and between the ages 19 to 30 (Ruhl 4). Swiss Guard Commander, Alois Estermann and his wife, were killed by another Swiss Guard, Cedric Tornay, who later killed himself (Ruhl 5). On April 18, 1506, Pope Nicholas V begins rebuilding and expanding St. Peter’s Basilica. According to researchers Basilica is the world’s second, the largest Christian church after Yamoussoukro Basilica in Côte d 'ivoire. Michelangelo designed the dome of Basilica, 400 feet tall and 138 feet in diameter. St. Peter’s Basilica has the shape of a cross 700 feet long, 450 feet wide and is standing on 18,000 square yards or more. The building can hold more than 60,000 people, it is a beautiful place to see and is one of the many visited places in Vatican. The original Basilica was built in 326 AD by Emperor Constantine. Between 1473 to 1481 Vatican workers constructed the Sistine Chapel. But this was designed mainly for the Pope, not for the people of Vatican. Michelangelo spent four years painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Architect Giovanni dei Dolci, the designer, Raphael, a decorator, continued for 60 years, even after construction was finished. The Sistine Chapel is one of the

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