Vatican City - a photo on Flickriver

Vatican City

            Precedence: World’s first contiguous LEGO landscape of an entire sovereign country

Parts: 67,000+ (~1,300 unique)

Scale: 1:650

Dimensions: 52in x 68in (131cm x 173cm)

Design Time: 500+ hours in 70 days

Build Time: 300+ hours in 28 days

PC: Brianda Mireles

VC: Dave Flores 
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TV ES PETRVS ET SVPER HANC PETRAM AEDIFICABO ECCLESIAM MEAM. TIBI DABO CLAVES REGNI CAELORVM

"You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church ... I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven ..." 
(Vulgate, Matthew 16:18–19)

This is the Latin verse inscribed in five-foot tall letters on the interior drum of the dome atop St. Peter’s Basilica.  With vested heralds such as this, it would seem as though Vatican City were preordained to serve as the beating heart of Christendom long before Matthew’s scripture was written.  In point of fact, however, this once marshy floodplain between the Janiculum and Vatican Hills is hardly exempt from the same amount of mythical overlay among the seven original hills of Rome.  Nevertheless, one thing remains certain: while Vatican City may be the smallest nation on Earth, it can scarcely be argued that its offices have had perhaps the most significant impact on Western civilization of any of today’s countries.  

From archaic beginnings in lore of the distant past and the humble teachings of lowly fishermen, to the sovereign entity of today’s Holy See, the Roman Catholic Church is the largest and oldest continuously functioning international institution - and Vatican City is the spiritual, religious, and diplomatic center of the Catholic Church.  Since the time of Peter, the church has been overseen by a single monarchical figurehead; a Bishop of Rome; a Pontifex Maximus; a Pope.  Today, Pope Francis is the 266th Bishop of Rome and resides within Vatican City.  The country is also home to the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel, the Apostolic Palace, the Vatican Gardens, St. Peter’s Square, and the Papal Basilica of Peter in the Vatican (or simply, St. Peter’s Basilica).  Across its 121 acres, Vatican City contains an innumerable sum of significant works of cultural and architectural heritage.  For this reason, Vatican City represents far more than a spiritual center for 1.3 billion Catholics; it is emblematic of the shared knowledge and heritage among all of today’s billions and is a rare extant connection to the billions beyond count of millennia past.

This shared heritage is what drew me to visit Vatican City in November 2019; it’s what inspired the subsequent year’s worth of reading on the Renaissance masters whose works lay within the city-state’s borders; and it’s what had me visually measuring the façade of St. Peter’s in imaginary LEGO bricks the first time I set eyes upon it one starry November night.  Despite being raised Catholic, I would consider myself far more spiritual than religious in the traditional sense.  That being said, faith is a gift that, like art, takes many forms.  I would be lying if I said that gazing up at Michelangelo’s Genesis and Last Judgement, studying the Laocoön and Pietà from behind stanchions, or marveling at the indeterminably ancient obelisk of St. Peter’s Square did not elicit viscerally emotional responses verging on faith in something greater at work or at least longer-lasting.  For myself, I know it was that intense recognition and admiration that drove me to design and build what I believe in no uncertain terms is my most cumulative piece to date.  For others viewing this piece in these images and in person before long, it is my earnest hope and faithful wish that in light of the shared difficulties of the past year, this piece will ultimately serve as a reminder of our shared past and our ever-enduring capacity to overcome adversity and find renewed faith in one another.

Taken on: November 22, 2020

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Sets appears in: • Vatican City

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Camera: Canon EOS Rebel SL2, f/5.6, 1/25 sec, 19mm, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS Rebel SL2
Lens:	TAMRON 10-24mm F/3.5-4.5 Di II VC HLD B023
Aperture:	f/5.6
Exposure Time:	0.04 sec (1/25)
Focal Length:	19mm
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	+2/3 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop 22.0 (Windows)
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