In Vatican City

In 1929, the Lateran Treaty between Pope Pius XI and the Italian government created the Vatican, the world's second-smallest sovereign independent state. It has only a few hundred citizens and is protected (theoretically) by its own militia, the curiously uniformed (some say by Michelangelo) Swiss guards.

The only entrance to the Vatican for the casual visitor is through one of the glories of the Western world: Bernini's St. Peter's Square (Piazza San Pietro). As you stand in the huge piazza, you'll be in the arms of an ellipse partly enclosed by a majestic Doric-pillared colonnade. Atop it stands a gesticulating crowd of some 140 saints. Straight ahead is the facade of St. Peter's Basilica (Sts. Peter and Paul are represented by statues in front, with Peter carrying the keys to the kingdom), and, to the right, above the colonnade, are the dark-brown buildings of the papal apartments and the Vatican Museums. In the center of the square is an Egyptian obelisk, brought from the ancient city of Heliopolis on the Nile delta. Flanking the obelisk are two 17th-century fountains. The one on the right by Carlo Maderno, who designed the facade of St. Peter's, was placed here by Bernini himself; the other is by Carlo Fontana.

On the left side of Piazza San Pietro is the Vatican Tourist Office (tel. 06-69881662), open Monday through Saturday from 8:30am to 6:30pm. It sells maps and guides that'll help you make sense of the riches you'll be seeing in the museums. It also schedules tours for the Vatican Gardens and tries to answer questions.

Near Vatican City -- The trio of arches in the Tiber River's center has been basically unchanged since the Ponte Sant'Angelo was built around A.D. 135; the arches abutting the river's embankments were added late in the 19th century as part of a flood-control program. On December 19, 1450, so many pilgrims gathered on this bridge (which at the time was lined with wooden buildings) that about 200 of them were crushed to death.

Since the 1960s, the bridge has been reserved for pedestrians, who can stroll across and admire the statues designed by Bernini. On the southern end is Piazza Sant'Angelo, the site of one of the most famous executions of the Renaissance. In 1599, Beatrice Cenci and several members of her family were beheaded on orders of Pope Clement VIII. Their crime? Plotting the murder of their rich and brutal father. Their tale inspired a tragedy by Shelley and a novel by 19th-century Italian politician Francesco Guerrazzi.

Papal Audiences -- When the pope is in Rome, he gives a public audience every Wednesday beginning at 10:30am (sometimes at 10am in summer). It takes place in the Paul VI Hall of Audiences, although sometimes St. Peter's Basilica and St. Peter's Square are used to accommodate a large attendance. Anyone is welcome, but you must first obtain a free ticket from the office of the Prefecture of the Papal Household, accessible from St. Peter's Square by the Bronze Door, where the colonnade on the right (as you face the basilica) begins. The office is open from Monday through Saturday from 9am to 1pm. Tickets are readily available on Monday and Tuesday; sometimes you won't be able to get into the office on Wednesday morning. Occasionally, if there's enough room, you can attend without a ticket.

You can also write ahead to the Prefecture of the Papal Household, 00120 Città del Vaticano (tel. 06-69883273), indicating your language, the dates of your visit, the number of people in your party, and (if possible) the hotel in Rome to which the cards should be sent the afternoon before the audience. American Catholics, armed with a letter of introduction from their parish priest, should apply to the North American College, Via dell'Umiltà 30, 00187 Roma (tel. 06-690011).

At noon on Sunday, the pope speaks briefly from his study window and gives his blessing to the visitors and pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square. From about mid-July to mid-September, the Angelus and blessing take place at the summer residence at Castelgandolfo, some 26km (16 miles) out of Rome and accessible by Metro and bus.