Today we toured several churches in the morning, then we went to the Vatican Museum in the afternoon. The churches we visited were the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore and the Church of San Giovanni in Laterano.
The Church of San Giovanni is the official Church of Rome, and every new Pope must sit in the Bishop’s Chair to officially take over the duties of the Bishop of the Vatican. There were a lot of beautiful ceilings, statues and side chapels.
We also saw the Holy Stairs from Pilate’s Home where Jesus climbed and was then condemned Jesus. They were brought over by Constantine’s mother and have walnut wood with small glass covers where the blood of Jesus dripped from his scourging. We did not climb the steps, they were full of people, and the only way to ascend was on your knees.
We then took the Metro (underground train) to the Vatican Museum. It was very beautiful, especially the Rafaelo Rooms and the Sistine Chapel.
You can take photographs of everything without a flash, except the Sistine Chapel ceiling; there are “no photos per favore” in there.
We briefly went over to the square at St. Peter’s. We will officially visit the Basilica on our cruise stop for Rome.