Rome – view from the dome of St Peter’s

I visited the dome of St Peter’s in Rome one afternoon with my mother. We had to queue for about half an hour and the cost is €10 to take the lift to the bottom of the dome or €7 to take the stairs.

From there you go through a door and up a ramp into the base of the dome where you are close up with the wonderful mosaics and can look straight down into the basilica below or up at the rich decoration on the inside.

Mosaics in St Peter’s dome

It was great to be so close to the mosaics – they looked so fresh that they could have been created yesterday. There were these coats of arms above the doorways:

And these oversize cherubs all round the perimeter. It was difficult to get any distance away to photograph them and there was high wire mesh to stop you going over the parapet.

Then we went through another door and started climbing the 320 steps to bring us out at the top of the dome. The steps wound round and round and as we got higher they got narrower and the roof sloped inwards, forcing us to lean at an angle.

At the top of the dome of St Peter’s

When we got to the top it was very crowded, which you can’t really see in the photos. Every space was taken up by a person trying to get a photo with a view of the piazza behind them but without ten other tourists in the shot.

It was so crowded that my mother and I managed to lose each other for 15 minutes which was amazing considering the small area . If you feel claustrophobic this may not be the best experience for you!

Views of the Pope’s garden in Rome

Around the other side, you get a great view into the Pope’s back garden, which for most people is the only view you’ll get. Unfortunately, there are only limited guided tours and you have to book by e-mail, fax or telephone at least a week in advance. It’s a shame that it’s not more accessible as it looked beautiful down there.

The Bernini Statues at St Peter’s Rome

When you’ve seen enough of the 360 degree views you descend to an outdoor terrace at the base of the dome. Here you can get close to the back of Bernini’s huge statues of the saints which line the front of the Basilica and round the colonnade.

Apparently there are 162 of them, but I noticed that they hadn’t bothered to carve many of them at the back. There’s also a place to buy coffee and a gift shop with lots of religious souvenirs.

Then we descended in the lift again to the piazza. It’s definitely worth going up to see those amazing mosaics and the views of Rome.

Read next

Read about: Roman rituals – why kiss St Peter’s toe at the Vatican?

See all my Rome photos on Flickr

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com

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