This month we suggest you a tour thru the real history of the Basilica of St. Peter and the Vatican valley: the 500 years anniversary of the first brick of the Basilica is the occasion for a complete tour of the most important Christian church ever built, the Basilica of the First Apostle.

The tour will start seeing the temporary exhibition (until February 2007) hosted into the Braccio di Carlo Magno, with all the original projects of the Basilica, and paintings by the most important painters of the 16th-17th century about Peter, to understand the evolution of the project thru the 106 years of the building.

Then, we will go inside the church, to see the amazing Temple of the Bishop of Rome, the Pontifex Maximus, the Pope, and the countless art treasures inside: the funeral portraits of the Popes, statues by Bernini, Canova, Manzù, the bronze canopy of the main altar by Bernini, the astonishing Pietà by Michelangelo, one of the most moving statues ever, the Dome by Michelangelo-Della Porta abd many others. Then, underneath the church, to see the Grotte Vaticane (Vatican caves) the corridors realized in 16th century to host the coffins of the popes: about 60 popes are buried here, including the most recent ones, Paul the 6th, John-Paul the 1st and John Paul the 2nd.

To complete the tour, it is important to go seeing the cemetery of the 1st century underneath the Basilica and the Grotte: about 20 family tombs of pagan families, richly decorated and painted, surrounding the simple burial place of Peter, the one the Christian tradition says is the original one of the first follower of Jesus, Iit doesn’t matter if you believe it or not, the place got such a suggestion and a intimate atmosphere that I’m sure you will remind this experience. Just in time for the anniversary of the Basilica, it has been opened to the public the recently discovered necropolis found during the excavations for a new parking inside the Vatican: about 150 burial places, most of them with an interesting story behind, to give you an idea of the real life of some normal Roman families of the Imperial Age. Only, it is important to reserve the entrance for both the archaeological tours at least 20 days before, so you’d better think about it in time

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