Page 425 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Italy

ROME : THE V A TIC AN AND TR ASTE VERE  423

The Grottoes VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
A fragment of this 13th-century
mosaic by Giotto, salvaged Practical Information
from the old basilica, is now Piazza San Pietro.
in the Grottoes, where Map 1 B3.
many popes are buried. Tel 06 69 88 37 12 (Sacristy);
06 69 88 16 62 (tourist info).
Basilica: Open Apr–Sep:
7am–7pm daily (mid-Oct–Mar:
to 6:30pm). 5 7 &
Treasury: Open Apr–Sep:
8am–7pm daily (Oct–Mar:
to 6:15pm). &
Grottoes: Open Apr–Sep:
8am–6pm daily (Oct–Mar: 5:30pm).
Michelangelo’s Pietà Dome: Open 8am–6pm daily
Protected by glass since an (Oct–Mar: to 5pm). &
attack in 1972, the Pietà Papal audiences: usually Wed at
was created in 1499 10:30am in Piazza San Pietro or in
when Michelangelo the Papal Audience Chamber.
was only 25. Tickets (free) from Prefecture of
the Pontifical Household. Call 06
69 88 31 14 or check availability
at office through bronze doors
on right of the colonnade
(9am–1pm). The pope appears
at noon Sun to bless the crowd
in Piazza San Pietro.
Transport
@ 23, 49, 70, 180, 492.
q Ottaviano San Pietro.

Filarete Doors
These bronze
doors from
the old
basilica were
decorated with
biblical reliefs
by Filarete
between 1439
and 1445.

Entrance

Piazza San Pietro
On Sundays, religious festivals
and special occasions such as
canonizations, the pope blesses
the crowds from a balcony.

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