C is for the Cupola di San Pietro

Visiting the Vatican City was a dream come true! Setting foot on the Piazza di San Pietro was a mystical experience. And climbing up the 320 winding and narrow steps up to the highest point of the CUPOLA was the highlight of our trip to St. Peter's Basilica, by far the most grand CHURCH I have ever seen! There was so much to see and absorb once you enter Saint Peter's Basilica so that you cannot decide where to start looking first: up or down, left or right. LOL!

The Cupola as viewed from inside the Church.

The mosaics.

Details of the Cupola as seen on the first level, just a few steps from the lift/elevator.

But anyway, back to the Cupola. It is by far, the largest and grandest dome on earth, and measures around 43 meters in diameter, and is Michelangelo's last great work. The dome sits on four great arches that stand on four massive piers, each with a perimeter of 71 meters. Inside the church, it is really high up so that it would take an elevator ride to get a closer look at the mosaics and the details of the dome.

A view of the Piazza from the top of the Cupola. A famous view among photographers.

The 320 steps to the top of the Cupola is a series of stairs, one that is too long and then, winding, and then too narrow. There was this really looonnggg stairs that goes round and round and round, you would think it was endless! You wouldn't know when to take one step or two steps. And being a dome, the walls begin to slope as you ascend. Try to imagine this with a one-year old in your arms.You would indeed be having vertigo or claustrophobia because some parts of the stairs are way too narrow. It was indeed quite an adventure to go up but I would still climb up should another opportunity arise.
*Do click on the photos for a larger view.

If you do get the chance to visit the Vatican, be sure to climb up the cupola. It would be worth all the trouble!

Join us on ABC Wednesday, now on its 5th Round!

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