St Peter's Cathedral - 2,000 years ago this was the site of Emperor Nero's Circus, a huge chariot race course.
The obelisk was the center of the race course. The chairs were setup for the Pope's Easter Sunday mass.
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St Peter's Cathedral - partial view of Bernini's colonnade, and a papal apartment building in the background.
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St Peter's Cathedral - Michaelangelo's Pieta resides inside the cathedral behind protection glass after having being attacked with a hammer by a lunatic in the 1970's.
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St Peter's Cathedral - Interior - this is the largest and richest Christian church in the world since it the Pope's church.
The church covers six acres, and has a capacity for 95,000 worshipers.
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St Peter's Cathedral - Altar over St Peter's Tomb - the altar stands directly over the tomb where St Peter's remains rest.
Only the Pope can hold mass from this altar.
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St Peter's Cathedral - Michaelangelo's Dome - inside view of the basilica's dome that was designed by Michaelangelo.
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St Peter's Cathedral - Base of the Altar - the coat of arms with three bees is the coat of arms of the powerful Barberini family from whom many popes where selected.
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Castel Sant'Angelo - initially the building was to be the mausoleum of the Emperor Hadrian. It was made into a fort by the Pope.
Note the statue of an angel with a sword on top of the building.
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Ponte Sant'Angelo - bridge over the Tiber River crossing from Vatican City into Rome.
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