La Cupola

St. Peter's Square

Once again we climbed to the very top of the cupola. This one is the highest in the world at 375 feet high and 491 steps. We took the elevator, but it only reduces the climb by 171 steps leaving 320 the old fashioned way. See those people walking around on that orange roof? That's where the elevator drops you off.

I did think the stairs were much safer than the others we'd climbed during this same week.

At one point there is a place where you can walk around the dome on the inside. Isn't that view amazing? You may remember from my first post on the basilica . . . those letters around the top are 8 ft. high!

It is the Biblical verse Matthew 16: 18-19

TV ES PETRVS ET SVPER HANC PETRAM AEDIFICABO ECCLESIAM MEAM. TIBI DABO CLAVES REGNI CAELORVM

You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.... I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.

The area for walking around the dome inside is filled with these mosaics made from tiny tiles.

Michelangelo served as the main architect for a while and designed the famous dome. That hole at the top is 28 feet wide - that's like a 3-lane highway.

This view is toward the River Tiber.

The view was pretty amazing from the top. You can see the Tiber River to the right and Hadrian's Mausoleum to the left. That huge white structure in the middle left of the photo is the Corte Suprema di Cassazione (Supreme Court) of Italy.

Hadrian's Mausoleum

Corte Suprema di Cassazione

You can walk around the entire perimeter of the dome so this photo is taken from the other side. This huge "yellowish" complex is the Vatican museums and courtyards and the Sistine Chapel.

Here's a close up of that courtyard seen in the top left of the other photo.

The grounds of Vatican City are really beautiful.

Here's a close up. That is the Coat of Arms of Pope Benedict XVI. In case you don't know who that is - he's the 265th Pope or better known as the current Pope since 2005. He's originally from Germany and was born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger in 1927.

St. Peter's Square

Definitely worth all that climbing.