The Hall of Maps

The Vatican

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April 7th 2008
We had booked a 9 am tour of the Vatican with a docent from Context Travel. After an early breakfast we went on a bone-jarring bus trip across Rome. The buses that criss-cross the city are uncomfortable because most of the roads in the ancient Italian cities are composed of square cobblestones around 15 cm or 6 inches a side. These do not make for a smooth ride! As we approached the shop we wer ... read more

Europe » Italy » Lazio » Rome

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Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the city-states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King Victor EMMANUEL II. An era of parliamentary government came to a close in the early 1920s when Benito MUSSOLINI establis... ... read more