VATICAN CITY

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In keeping with protocol, Swiss Guards often offer a welcoming military salute to clerics or visiting dignitaries.
Another gesture, for which Catholicism is widely known, is a hand motion known as the sign of the cross because it represents the cross upon which Christ was crucified.
The pope makes the gesture from his balcony at his Wednesday general audience and his Sunday Angelus message. When greeting a cardinal or the pope, people usually kneel and kiss the leader’s ring. It is customary to let the pope speak first.

COURTESIS

• Doors are held open for women and for the elderly.
• Smoking, eating, and drinking are forbidden in the gardens, squares, and streets.
• Loud speaking, profanity, and improper clothing are also frowned upon.
• If wearing a hat, one takes it off before entering a building or during a religious service.

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1. St. Peter’s Basilica
Is Considered one of the greatest examples of Renaissance architecture.
It took more than a hundred years to build, from 1506 to 1626. Its final design was drawn by Michelangelo and was finished by later architects after his death in 1564.
The central dome, one of the largest in the world, dominates the skyline of Rome.
The baldacchino lies directly over St. Peter’s tomb. Michelangelo's sculpture the Pietà is housed in St. Peter’s Basilica. St. Peter's Square, an oval courtyard surrounded by tall colonnades, leads up to the basilica; it ends in a row of steps flanked by two huge statues of the first century apostles to Rome, Peter and Paul.

2. Sistine Chapel
Among the most famous works at the Vatican are the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel, which date back to the 15th and 16th centuries. The Chapel is a tall, rectangular brick building, divided inside into three levels. The upper two levels were frescoed by a number of skilled Florentine Renaissance artists. The ceiling and back wall feature works by Michelangelo and include the frescoes The Creation of Adam and The Last Judgment. The Chapel's lowest level features tapestries designed for the chapel by Raphael that depict events from the lives of St. Peter and St. Paul.

3. Pinacoteca ( Art Gallery)
Even though it was robbed of many of its treasures by Napoleon, the Pinacoteca contains 16 rooms of priceless art from the Middle Ages to contemporary works. Arranged in chronological order, the pictures give an excellent survey of the development of Western painting. Medieval art includes Byzantine, Sienese, Umbrian, , and Tuscan paintings, as well as a Giotto triptych and a Madonna and St. Nicholas of Bari by Fra Angelico.

4. Vatican Library
The value of its contents makes the Vatican Library the richest in the world, with 7,000 incunabula (printed before 1501), 25,000 medieval hand-written books, and 80,000 manuscripts that have been collected since the library's founding in 1450.

5. Piazza San Pietro
The grand Piazza San Pietro in front of St. Peter's Basilica was laid out by Bernini between 1656 and 1667 to provide a setting where the faithful from all over the world could gather. It still serves that purpose admirably, and is filled to capacity each Easter Sunday and on other important occasions. The large oval area, 372 meters long, is enclosed at each end by semicircular colonnades surmounted by a balustrade with 140 statues of saints.

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Vatican City has a Mediterranean climate, with hot, dry summers and cool winters. July and August are the hottest months, when the average high temperature is 86°F (30°C). Temperatures are coldest from December to February, with highs around 55°F (13°C).

- Rituals Young People Go Through -
Many rites of passage that young people experience are religious sacraments such as baptism, first communion, and confirmation.
In many families, a student's progress through the education system is celebrated with parties.

FREE TIME
- In the adjacent city of Rome, there are many superb restaurants and trattoria (cafés or casual restaurants), as well as abundant concerts, musicals, operas, theaters, parks, and cinemas.
- Teams of priests and seminarians studying in Rome compete in the popular Clericus Cup soccer matches.
- Vacation time in Vatican City is closely linked to religious holidays. For example, virtually everyone receives vacation days on Christmas, Easter, and the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin (in August

FAMILY LIFESTYLE
Italian family life can be characterized by loyalty and closeness. Italians tend to remain as a close unit through several generations. Whether they are meeting in the square or at someone's house over a large dinner, family life in Vatican City is one of the foundations of their culture

Italians like to socialize outside the home and often meet in bars, restaurants and pizzerias, but gatherings at home are also very much a part of Italian life when Italians gather as a family to celebrate special occasions or just to come together to enjoy a meal on Sunday.

DATING AND MARRIAGE
The Catholic Church views marriage as a sacred institution given by God to benefit human society, it officially opposes divorce.
Marriages for lay personnel and their families are often performed at St. Peter's Basilica. About a hundred marriages take place in Vatican City annually. Church weddings are recognized by the Italian state.
On Wednesdays, during the pope's general audience, newly married Catholic couples they come to receive the pope's blessing for the success of their future life together

HEALTH

• Yellow fever vaccinations are not required. Is not a Malaria area of risk.
• Vatican city is unlikely to prove a hazard to international travelers greater than that found in their own country. There are, health risks, but in most areas very few precautions are required.
• Patients are seen when more extensive treatment in one of Rome’s hospitals, which have arrangements with the Vatican's FAS

TRANSPORTATION

• Vatican City has neither highways, harbor ports, nor an airport.
• A brief 10-minute walk north of Vatican City allows for connection with Rome's Metro Line A.
• A new law in 2011 restricted vehicle access to Vatican City; only citizens, residents, or those with a special permit are allowed to enter the city by car.

GOVERNMENT
Because of the close connection between Vatican City and the Catholic Church, some state policies are connected to religious issues.
When visiting the Vatican Museums in Rome all visitors males and females should wear as a minimum clothing that covers both their shoulders and knees.
For those visiting the Vatican who come unprepared, as a way to skip around the dress code of the Vatican you can purchase plastic cloaks that you can wrap around yourself to cover your knees and shoulders.

ECONOMY
Because of the close connection between Vatican City and the Catholic Church, some state policies are connected to religious issues.
When visiting the Vatican Museums in Rome all visitors males and females should wear as a minimum clothing that covers both their shoulders and knees.
For those visiting the Vatican who come unprepared, as a way to skip around the dress code of the Vatican you can purchase plastic cloaks that you can wrap around yourself to cover your knees and shoulders.

CURRENCY
In 1999, the Vatican’s currency switched to the euro from the Vatican lira.
1 Euro =
22.8855135 Mexican pesos
1 Euro =
1.058455 U.S. dollars
We recommend you to use small bags were you can safely protect your money