Vatican City in December (Planning, Scheduling)

Today I contacted the Vatican for 3 main reasons:

1) I want to see the excavations below St. Peter's Basilica (also known as the Vatican Scavi or Vatican Necropolis).

Source:fitforholiness.com

Instructions from the Vatican website:

Reservations

Reservations are only accepted in writing (by e-mail: scavi@fsp.va, by fax: (39-06) 6987-3017, or directly in the Excavations Office.)

With your request to visit the excavations, please provide the following information:

• The exact number of visitors
• Their names (in case of groups, the composition and provenance of the group is also needed [e.g. university, parish, etc.])
• Language desired for the visit
• The dates available during which the Office can arrange the visit (The precise time of the visit will be determined by the Excavations Office).
• Contact information (an e-mail address, fax number, or full postal address) so that the Excavations Office may advise you about your visit.

When a visit is possible, the Office will send a proposed date and time. If the proposed date and time are acceptable, the visitors must so inform the Excavations Office, which will then definitively confirm the visit.

When a visit is not possible:

Given the limited number of group possible, not all requests can be answered positively.

• On occasion, due to the vast number of requests received and the time needed to process them, it may not be possible for the Office to even respond to an application prior to one’s arrival in Rome. In such cases, the Excavation Office regrets that a visit will not be possible.

Office hours

The Excavations Office is open daily from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, except Sundays and holidays.

• Orario Ufficio: dalle ore 9.00 alle 17.00: tutti i giorni escluso DOMENICA e FESTIVI vaticani
• Excavations Office Hours: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm, Closed Sunday and Holidays
• Bureau des fouilles: 9.00 - 17.00 (Ouverte tous les jours sauf le dimanche et les jours ferés)
• Geöffnet: Werktags von 9.00 Uhr bis 17.00 Uhr: Geschlossen: Sonntags und an Feiertagen
• Abierta desde las 9:00 a las 17:00: Cerrado los domingos y festivos

Usually the last tour each day begins at 3:30 pm

Tickets and Reaching the Excavations Office

The visitor must always confirm his reservation in the way and during the time period given by the Excavations Office in positive responses to requests.

Visitors ought to be at the Excavations Office [without large bags and backpacks] at least five minutes prior to the beginning of their tour.

The Excavations Office may be reached through the Holy Office Gate to the Vatican (through the colonnade to the left, on Via Paolo VI). The Swiss Guard will direct the visitors to the Office.

The visit to the necropolis ends back at the Excavations Office.

On occasion, the basilica and the excavations may be closed for unforeseen reasons. In such cases, the Scavi Office will attempt to reschedule those groups affected by the closing. When this is not possible, any reservation deposit will be refunded.

Excavations Office
Fabbrica di San Pietro
00120 Vatican City  

Tel. +39 06 6988.5318
Fax +39 06 6987.3017 - 6988.5518

E-Mail: scavi@fsp.va

 2) I also want to spend Christmas day or Christmas Eve at St. Peter's. I believe this is the epitome of Christmas. We are a spiritual family and we love Christmas, what better way to experience it?

Source:monachos.net

This time, the Vatican instructed us to complete a form and fax it to them.

Prefecture of the Papal Household

00120 Vatican City State

Fax +39 06 0698 85863

3) I've been doing a lot of research on the Vatican Museum, and most have recommended to get a guided tour. We're not really the guided tour types, but I think this one may be worth it.

Viator.com looks pretty good, I will book a couple of weeks before we leave Toronto. Thousands of positive reviews about this particular tour. Very exciting!

Source:bernini

I didn't like the book very much, I liked the movie even less, but the Angels & Demons tour looks pretty interesting... and we might just try it on December 26, since most of Romes sites, shops, etc, will be closed on that day. 

I wish I could get paid to do this stuff full-time.