Our Saturday morning started bright and early when we met Jill downstairs for some early tours of the inside of St Peter’s Basilica and Castel Sant’Angelo.

On our tour of the Basilica, we learned that there are actually no painted surfaces in the whole building! All of the art in there is either mosiac paintings, or sculptures. I thought that was pretty cool! I also thought that it was really interesting that every piece of art in there has a meaning behind it – even the shape of it! The Pieta is sculpted in such a way that Jesus’ body is laid out across Mary’s body in the shape of an “S” to evoke emotion in people.

On our tour of Castel Sant’Angelo, we learned that it used to be the home of the Pope, but was later confiscated by the Italian Government and turned into a police station. It was also where Catherine Medici was held in prison for many years, but later became the Head of France after marrying Henry II of France. Now that’s cool!