Rome, the capital of Italy, is much more than a mere capital. For the Catholic Christians all over the world, it's
a holiest place on earth. Vatican City is actually a part of Rome. But it has the status of an independant nation.
The Pope is considered to be the leader of this country.
Rome is full of beautiful monuments, fountains and ancient buildings, as well as the ruins of the cities
of Roman Empire.
The Spanish Steps have a funny history. King Louis XIV and Pope had developed such a bitterness between them,
that they wouldn't agree on anything. There was a church in the French embassy, which was considered to be on
the French territory, on the hill. But Pope said the hill was under roman rule and wouldn't let the French build
steps on the hill. Anybody wanting to go for the worship had to cross a dangerous and steep footpath to cross over.
At last the King Louis XIV died and the bitterness finally ended. The steps wer constructed and given the name
because of the Spanish Embassy nearby. (May be they wanted to avoid another battle of prides by rejecting both
French and Italian names ;-) )
Saint Peter's Cathedral in the Vatican is the largest Cathedral in the world. It was planned by the most famous
artist, Michelangelo. The cathedral's construction went on for centuries since the construction work started more
then 1500 years ago. The place can accomodate 60,000 worshippers at a time. The Pope himself appears every
wednesday in the worship square to bless the worshippers.
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