On our first day in Rome we decided to head over to Vatican City. I was most excited about seeing the Sistine Chapel and wasn't sure what to expect elsewhere. It did not disappoint! Come with us as we explore a wheelchair accessible Vatican City!
We decided to walk from our hotel to the Vatican so that we could see some of Rome's famous sights along the way. However if your wheelchair isn't great with cobbles it may be better to take a taxi or use a bus!
Vatican City is the smallest country in the world with a population of about 764 and an area of just 0.19 square miles! It is most famous for being home to the Pope and is the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church.
St Peter's Basilica
When we arrived at St Peter's Square, we headed straight to the front of the queue and were shown to St Peter's Basilica which has free entry. The access to the Basilica was great with plenty of ramps and a lift up to the main entrance.
The church is the largest in the world and is stunning! The basilica houses many tombs of the Popes and notable people. You can also see Michelangelo's famous statue Pietà and the baldachin also known as a canopy over the Papal Altar, which designed by Bernini.
We spent quite a long time in the basilica as it was an amazing place that needed time to take in and appreciate.
Vatican Museums
When we left St Peter's we headed to the Vatican Museums. This is a short walk away from the basilica and can be found by following the path alongside the city wall to the entrance. When we arrived at the museum we were given an accessible map which showed us where the lifts were and accessible routes. We did find it difficult to work out what was the correct route round and did go back on ourselves quite a few times!
My conclusion from visiting the Vatican Museums was that Popes are hoarders! The museums have so many paintings, sculptures, artefacts and so much stuff from all over the world. According to Wikipedia, the museums contain roughly 70,000 works, of which 20,000 are on display. Paintings include those by Leonardo da Vinci, Caravaggio and Titian. There are also modern artworks by Picasso, Dalí and Gauguin. It is easy to see why this is the most visited art museum in the world after the Louvre in Paris.
My favourite place in the museum was the Gallery of Maps created during the 16th century. It is a long corridor with forty maps of various Italian regions and the main cities. On the ceiling next to each of the maps are paintings of religious events that took place there. I would recommend going up and down this corridor twice to be able to view all of the artworks! This corridor also leads to the Sistine Chapel.
Sistine Chapel
To get down to the chapel there is a platform lift which takes you down the stairs, it is a little slow especially when you're eager to get there!
The chapel is incredible, the frescos are just 'wow'! It took Michelangelo 4 years alone just to paint the ceiling. The way the pillars in the frescos are painted make them look 3D, it's really incredible!
The Sistene Chapel left me speechless and I would love to visit it again one day!
We found Vatican City to be a really wheelchair accessible place. I would recommend spending a whole day here to ensure you get to visit everything and not be rushed. We visited in January so it wasn't as busy as it would have been in the peak season. This meant it was easier for us to get around and not have to fight through crowds of people. As always in Italy, entry for disabled people and a carer is free of charge.
Coming up we will be writing about what other sites we recommend seeing in Rome including the Colosseum!
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