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{"id":909,"date":"2011-01-08T23:02:16","date_gmt":"2011-01-09T04:02:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kathyschiffer.com\/wordpress\/?p=909"},"modified":"2016-09-08T19:52:22","modified_gmt":"2016-09-09T00:52:22","slug":"secret-spaces-a-stroll-in-the-vatican-gardens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathyschiffer\/2011\/01\/secret-spaces-a-stroll-in-the-vatican-gardens\/","title":{"rendered":"SECRET SPACES: A Stroll in the Vatican Gardens"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

$\"\"$ <\/a><\/p>\n

It has been my great privilege to lead four pilgrimages to Rome\u2014well, five, if you count our family\u2019s four-country motoring adventure in the Jubilee Year.<\/p>\n

Ever ancient, ever new, the Eternal City is always beguiling, a city of reverence and flamboyance, passion and panache.\u00a0 Always, after a few days of dodging Vespas and walking my feet off to see antiquities and unimaginable things, it\u2019s good to go home to American soil; but once I\u2019ve slept off the jet lag, Rome\u2019s siren call echoes in my heart and I can\u2019t wait to return.<\/p>\n

Vatican City, the locus of my Catholic faith, is an independent city-state which lies entirely within the city of Rome.\u00a0 It is situated across the Tiber River from central Rome, and the great dome of St. Peter\u2019s Basilica is a commanding presence above the shops and apartments of the city. Travelers who arrive from the Via della Conciliazione, the main thoroughfare, will enter the embrace of Bernini\u2019s Collonade, the welcoming arms which stretch out from the great door of St. Peter\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Vatican City is actually the world\u2019s smallest nation\u2014smaller than an average-sized golf course\u2014yet it contains more than 150,000 pieces of art and sculpture, dating from ancient times to the present.<\/p>\n

Within the walls of Vatican City are St. Peter\u2019s Basilica, the Governatorato, the Obelisk, museums, chapels, fountains, the papal apartments, a post office, a jail, and various offices necessary for the administration of the Catholic Church in the world.<\/p>\n

But occupying more than half of the 109 acres of the walled city-state is the Vatican Gardens, a tranquil escape from the sweltering streets and the throngs of tourists.\u00a0 Here the sound of flowing water, emanating from fountains and waterfalls, is interrupted occasionally by the screech of a green mink parrot, common in the evergreen boughs.\u00a0 Pope Benedict strolls in the Gardens many afternoons with his private secretary.<\/p>\n

As conference director for Legatus, I was able to arrange a private tour of this sanctuary, which is not on the typical tourist itinerary.\u00a0 I\u2019ve posted a few of my pictures here\u2014I hope you enjoy them!<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"