VATICAN CAVE (POPE'S CRYPT)
On leaving the crypt of the popes, discover ancient Christian steles and sarcophagi in the last three rooms.
The crypt, or popes' cave, was built when the new basilica was built. The Confession - the burial of St. Peter - is at the same level and in the centre of the crypt. The Confession and the Clementine Chapel, the most interesting historically speaking, cannot be visited; they are too close to the sacred wall where the relics of Saint Peter were discovered in 1954. It is therefore only possible to take a short tour of the Popes' Cave and reflect on the graves of popes who have recently died, such as John Paul II. It should also be noted that some popes wanted to be buried outside the Vatican, like Pius IX who chose the basilica of Saint-Laurent-hors-les-Murs. Leaving the crypt, we pass through three last rooms where ancient Christian stelae and sarcophagi are exhibited, all examples of early Christian art. The staircase in the first of these three rooms leads to the pre-constantinian necropolis, and in particular to the tomb of the Prince of the Apostles.
Then we go out into the courtyard of the Roman Protomartyrs and take the opportunity to take a look to the right at the two bridges that lead from the basilica to the sacristy, whose windows and dome can also be seen. In front of you, you have the College and the Teutonic cemetery. Finally, it is under the Arc des Cloches that we leave the enclosure, under the gaze of the two Swiss pontifical guards, and find ourselves in St. Peter's Square.
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