The most beautiful places in the world

  
                                                                  The Vatican City

The Vatican City situated  in the middle of Rome is the smallest official country in the world.Vatican City was established in 1929 by the Lateran Treaty, signed by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Gasparri, on behalf of the Holy See and by Prime Minister Benito Mussolini on behalf of the Kingdom of Italy. Vatican City State is distinct from the Holy See, which dates back to early Christianity and is the main episcopal see of 1.2 billion Latin and Eastern Catholic adherents around the globe.

The Vatican City is the world's smallest state, being only around 44 ha (110 acres).The Vatican climate is the same as Rome's; a temperate, Mediterranean climate with mild, rainy winters from September to mid-May and hot, dry summers from May to August. There are some local features, principally mists and dews, caused by the anomalous bulk of St Peter's Basilica, the elevation, the fountains and the size of the large paved square.

Vatican City is home to some of the most famous art in the world. St. Peter's Basilica, whose successive architects include Bramante, Michelangelo,Giacomo della Porta, Maderno and Bernini is a renowned work of Renaissance architecture. The Sistine Chapel is famous for its frescos, which include works by Perugino, Domenico Ghirlandaio and Botticelli as well as the ceiling and Last Judgement by Michelangelo. Artists who decorated the interiors of the Vatican include Raphael and Fra Angelico.The Vatican Library and the collections of the Vatican Museums are of the highest historical, and cultural importance. In 1984, the Vatican was added by UNESCO to the List of World Heritage Sites; it is the only one to consist of an entire state.Furthermore, it is the only site to date registered with the UNESCO as a centre containing monuments in the "International Register of Cultural Property under Special Protection" according to the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.

                                                                                              
  

 Vatican City has a reasonably well developed transport network considering its size (consisting mostly of a plaza and walkways). As a country that is 1.05 kilometres (0.6 mi) long and 0.85 kilometres (0.5 mi) wide, it has a small transportation system with no airports or highways. There is one heliport and a standard gauge railway connected to Italy's network at Rome's Saint Peter's station by an 852-metre-long (932 yd) spur, only 300 metres (330 yd) of which is within Vatican territory.




Hours and tickets

Opening Hours : 

Open Monday to Saturday: the Ticket Office is open from 9 am to 4 pm. The Museums                                                   close at 6 pm 

Closed : 

Sunday (except the last Sunday of every month, free entrance from 9 am to 12.30 pm; the Museums close at 2 pm unless it coincides with Easter Sunday, the 29th of June (St. Peter and Paul), 25th and 26th of December (Christmas and St. Stephen). Free entrance also the 27th of September (World day of Tourism) January 1, 6 February 11 March 19 April 24 (Easter), 25 (Easter Monday) May 1 June 29 (St. Peter and Paul) August 14, 15 November 1 December 8 (Immaculate Conception), 25, 26 Online Tickets : http://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/do?action=booking