ADVERTISEMENT

As many are aware, the Vatican is a very beautiful travel destination. It has many great cultural sites that can probably captivate anyone with their beauty, like the famous Sistine Chapel, for example.

Yet, the Vatican has even more to offer in terms of precious artifacts than some might realize. So, to educate people on such matters, X account @Culture Critic posted a thread where they and other accounts shared many interesting treasures that are hidden within Vatican walls, which turned out to be an educational and visually captivating scroll through social media.

More info: X

#2

Vatican-Treasures-Artifacts

Culture_Crit Report

Add photo comments
POST
RabidChild
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well, of course. Didn't the church appropriate most everything - traditions, holidays, celebrations, mythology - from the pagans?

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#3

Vatican-Treasures-Artifacts

Culture_Crit Report

Add photo comments
POST
Ash
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Gorgeous. And wouldn't be as awesome without that deftly-placed stream of sunlight...

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

The Vatican (also called Vatican City or the Vatican City State) is the smallest state in the world, both by area and population. But that isn’t the only thing that makes it special. It is also a state that is ruled by the Pope, who is the bishop of Rome and head of the Catholic Church. Or in other words, it is ruled by The Holy See. 

It became independent from Italy in 1929 with the Lateran Treaty. The name for the state derived from an Etruscan settlement, Vatica or Vaticum, which was located in the area the Romans called Ager Vaticanus – "Vatican territory." Yet, since the state doesn’t have its own language, its legislation and official communications use Italian. 

Despite being the smallest state in the world, the Vatican has its own football team. The team is made up of employees of the Vatican, like police officers, postal workers, and even the members of the Pontifical Swiss Guard, which is kind of like the state's army, and it protects the Pope

ADVERTISEMENT
#5

Vatican-Treasures-Artifacts

Culture_Crit Report

Add photo comments
POST
Mya Lugar
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

No wonder they had no worries about walking around naked or near so...no big deal as it turns out!!

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#6

Vatican-Treasures-Artifacts

Culture_Crit Report

Add photo comments
POST
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A madman attacked the sculpture with a hammer, causing not insignificant damage. It was afterward displayed in a side chapel with an iron gate across it, keeping vandals at bay. I haven't been to the Vatican lately, but I hope it's now being shown the way it is in this photo: where people can enjoy it

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

Interestingly, the Vatican is also the country that has the highest wine consumption rate per capita in the world, as an average resident consumes 54.26 or 74 (depending on the information source) liters of wine every year. Well, with all of the masses in the country ruled by the head of the Catholic Church, it isn’t such a big surprise, is it? 

On the other hand, back in the first century, a poet named Martial declared that the area around the Vatican produced some of the worst wines. We guess that they must have improved their wine recipes to become the state that consumes this drink the most since then.

Another intriguing thing about the Vatican is that it contains a lot of religious and cultural sites, architecture, and artifacts. In fact, the Vatican is the only state that is in its entirety in UNESCO's List of World Heritage Sites.

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

For example, one of the best-known cultural sites in the Vatican is St. Peter's Basilica, under which one of the first leaders of the Catholic church, St. Peter himself, is buried. Some scholars suggest that he was crucified at the very same site, and to commemorate Emperor Constantine I, he decided to build a church. 

Also, a very famous Vatican cultural site is the Sistine Chapel, and its ceiling, which took 4 years for Michelangelo to paint, is deemed one of the major artistic accomplishments of human civilization. 

Besides these and some other famous cultural sites, within its walls, the Vatican holds many valuable treasures. Many examples can be seen in today’s list. For example, one of the rarest documents in history -- a papal letter of Martin Luther’s excommunication. It also holds Emperor Nero's 2000-year-old bathtub and other stuff that, in a way, can be viewed as artifacts that mark humanity’s rollercoaster of history. 

ADVERTISEMENT

So, take a look at these artifacts, and don’t forget to upvote the ones that you found the most captivating!

#10

Vatican-Treasures-Artifacts

Culture_Crit Report

Add photo comments
POST
David
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

you mean translated greek. Old was written in Hebrew and Aramiac, greek is a translation, not the original

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
See Also on Bored Panda
#16

Vatican-Treasures-Artifacts

Culture_Crit Report

Add photo comments
POST
La Lucy
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you go to Rome, you can book a tour to see these. The Scavi tour has to be booked directly with the Vatican, and usually 6 months, minimum, ahead of time. It is amazing.

View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#23

Vatican-Treasures-Artifacts

Culture_Crit Report

Add photo comments
POST
UncleJohn3000
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was with friends in Egypt who didn't have much international travel experience. We were on the ground in Cairo for maybe 20 minutes when I heard myself bark, "I don't care what the man says! NOTHING YOU CAN BUY CAME OUT OF A PYRAMID!"

View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda