Vatican City, population 800, is the papal enclave within Rome. It is a State of its own covering 109 acres. Latin is it's language. There is an army of 120 Swiss Guards. The Vatican has their own stamps, their own coins and they pay no taxes to another government. The open space of Saint Peter's Square which will hold 250,000 people, was designed so that the greatest number of people could see the Pope give his blessing from either the church or the window in the Palace. The designer, Gian L Bernini used a Tuscan form of Doric to evoke emotions of awe. I believe he was successful. The Egyptian Obelisk is 2,1000 years old and stands 25.50 mt. high. 
From pictures, I had imagined a much larger Square, but yes, it is large. Also, we were due to arrive at noon and the Pope was giving his blessing. However,
we arrived 20 minutes late and missed that experience. Even though we would have liked to see it, Ken and I were not overly dismayed ..... we already had the blessing on our lives of the greatest High Priest and Pope, Jesus Christ.
We took many pictures. The four-layer deep columns that surround the square are massive and beautiful . Even though Roman architect tends to have columns on the front only of their
buildings, these columns surround the square to show that the common man is open to receive the blessing of the Pope. We stood by the granite fountain and felt the dampness of the spray. We listened to the youth groups playing their music and observed many different colors and styles of religious dress amoung the visiter that day.
The ancient aquaducts still reveal public drinking water for the thirsty.
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