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Taking the Kids: To the Vatican

By Eileen Ogintz, Tribune Content Agency on

Talk about bragging rights. Post a picture of the kids standing in two countries -- at the same time.

Welcome to The Vatican, the world's smallest sovereign state, established in 1929. It's the modern version of the papal fiefdom that ruled Rome and much of central Italy before Italy was unified in the mid-19th century. Incidentally, the pope also has authority over 28 other sites in and around Rome -- another fun fact that may (or may not) interest kids.

It's also one of Italy's top tourist attractions. Millions of tourists from around the world visit every year. No matter what your religion, every tourist coming to Rome wants to (or thinks they must) visit theVatican Museums to marvel at Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel, his Pieta with the remarkably young face (far too young to be a mother) and stand in St. Peter's Basilica, the largest church in the world. There are more than a 1,000 years of treasures!

But the crowds can be worse than on the New York subway in rush hour, which inevitably makes touring with kids exceedingly difficult. What if they get away from you? (Always have a meeting place! And remind them they can always seek help from someone in uniform. If they are old enough, it helps to have your smartphones enabled so that in an emergency they can call or text you, even if there is no Wi-Fi.

A tip: Don't visit on Monday or Saturday -- the busiest days. It is much quieter on Friday evening when the museums are open through October (but not in August), suggests Eva Polino, an art historian and licensed guide, who developed a treasure hunt just for the young guests on Abercrombie & Kent’s popular family tours to Italy.

This is when it's worth hiring a private, kid-oriented guide to help you navigate or opt for a small family-oriented tour -- and skip the lines, if you can afford it. (A tour for four, including the skip-the-line museum tickets will run you about $350 for four from ToursbyLocals. Nancy Aiello Tours also offer family-specific tours to the Vatican and other sites in Rome.)

 

"The goal is having fun," said Polino, whether you craft a tour yourself or take a guided one for families. "Otherwise, the kids just get lost in the crowd of tourists and the guide isn't paying attention to them," she explained. That was the experience of some of my fellow cruisers with kids sailing aboard Carnival's Vista in the Mediterranean. "It was crazy," one dad said. "We couldn't wait to get out of there." (And for a family aboard a cruise ship, it may prove cost- and time-efficient to book a private tour rather than be stuck in a large group all day where you can only move as fast as the slowest person.

Thus the scavenger hunt. How many different popes' crests can you find? Polino hands each kid a sheet that has pictures of 15 different ones. These papal symbols, she explains, tell us which pope did what in the galleries and St. Peter's Basilica. Just like stadiums today, popes wanted naming rights on what they built. Which pope's crests do you see the most? He clearly got the most shout-outs!

Pope Francis' shield is Blue with the papal keys and a star, which is the ancient symbol of the Virgin Mary. His motto in Latin means "Lowly but Chosen."

What was the huge pinecone in the Belvedere courtyard used for? (A fountain!) "The idea is to get them to look at things," she explains.

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