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Welcome to a special project consisting of sixteen fullscreen 360-degree virtual reality panoramas of the Vatican’s basilicas and surroundings - including St. Peter’s, Santa Maria Maggiore, San Paolo Fuori le Mura and San Giovanni in Laterano - accompanied by Gregorian chants performed by Mina Mazzini, Italy’s legendary Diva.

The Vatican granted VRWAY Communication special access that allowed an international team of photographers to capture the beauty of these wonders. These photographs have been converted into fullscreen 360-degree virtual reality panoramas, and are also available on VRWAY’s online magazine, VRMAG.

Mina was immediately enthusiastic when approached with the project and kindly agreed to lend her haunting Gregorian chants, from her Dalla Terre CD, as musical accompaniment.

Mina's not new to web projects, on 30 March 2001 over 15 million surfers attempted to view Italy’s biggest live Web event, ever. The multicast consisted of a one-hour long, live transmission of the Italian songstress Mina, and her musicians, at work in her recording studio. The event was both a flop and a success; the density of the traffic caused the site to crash. In spite of Mina’s huge popularity, no one had anticipated such an overwhelming response. It was the first time, in the history of Italian Web, that such an enormous amount of people simultaneously connected to the same website. This is a tribute to the enduring loyalty of her fans.

In the whimsical world of the entertainment business, Mina has demonstrated to possess not only an unequalled staying power, but also a keen sense of her own self. The artist retired from public life many years ago. Since then, she has devoted herself to creative pursuits with a total disregard for the media and paying little attention to changing trends. She has remained true to her own creative vision and uniqueness.

What makes Mina truly phenomenal is that in spite of her semi-reclusive lifestyle, she remains ever present within her fans’consciousness. Furthermore, her determination in safeguarding her image from any promotional compromise, has allowed her to forge ahead over several decades, nurturing and developing her distinctive style without the need for public appearances. Mina epitomizes success; with a career that spans over 40 years, during which, year after year, every new album has consistently reached the top of the charts.

No software downloads are needed to view the panoramas, although users with the QuickTime and Zoomify plugins will be able to access the full range of technical features.

Vatican City, a sovereign country, is the smallest nation in the world and completely surrounded by Rome. It includes St. Peter’s Basilica, the largest church in the world at over six acres, and the Vatican Museums, with over 4.5 miles of corridors.

There are over 900 churches in Rome but only four greater, or patriarchal churches, which come directly under the Pope and have a papal altar: San Pietro in Vaticano (St. Peter’s Basilica) is the heart, home and spiritual capital for over one billion Catholics around the world; Santa Maria Maggiore; San Paolo Fuori le Mura and San Giovanni in Laterano (St. John in Lateran).

One of the most recognizable squares in Rome, St. Peter’s Square lies in front of St. Peter’s Basilica and over a portion of the Necropolis, or City of the Dead. Along each side are Bernini’s semi-circular colonnades, on top of which are 140 marble statues of saints looking down upon the piazza. In the middle is a large Egyptian obelisk, originally erected in Heliopolis by King Nuncores and moved to Rome by Emperor Caligula (34-41 A.D.).

San Pietro in Vaticano (St. Peter's Basilica)
S. Pietro in Vaticano is built over the tomb of St. Peter and was first erected by Constantine shortly after 320 A.D. Rebuilding began in the late 15th century and was overseen by Raphael and others, until Michelangelo took over in 1546 and transformed the building into the form of a Greek cross, which was later transformed into the shape of a Latin cross.

San Giovanni in Laterano (St. John of the Lateran)
San Giovanni in Laterano is the oldest and ranks first among the four patriarchal churches of Rome; it is the head of all churches throughout Rome and the world. Originally the palace of Constantine, it was later adapted to serve as the church of the Pope. The arch-Basilica was built later on the site of the original church as is known as St. John Lateran or the Lateran Basilica, and is dedicated to St. John the Baptist.

The top of the facade boasts huge statues of Christ and the Apostles. In the five-arched portico, there are as many doors, the last on the right being the Holy Door, which is accessible only every 25 years, during Jubilee years. In July 1993 terrorists damaged it
Inside, huge statues of the Apostles (six on each side) are in niches along the sides of the nave. Along the outside of the church is a loggia where the Pope gives his blessing that is exposed to the elements with beautiful ceiling frescoes. This church has survived two fires. The Papal Altar in this church is reserved for the Pope and only he can celebrate mass from this pulpit. The residence of the Popes until 1309 is also here (The Lateran Palace) and was rebuilt by Domenico Fontana in 1586. In the piazza is an ancient obelisk and parts of Nero's Aqueduct.

Santa Maria Maggiore (St. Mary Major)
S. Maria Maggiore was built in 431 A.D. and the apse was rebuilt in the 13th century. The original basilica was consecrated to the Blessed Virgin after the Council of Ephesus, which proclaimed her Mother of God. The basilica is rich in works of art, among them the frescos by Guido Reni (1575 – 1642) and the coffered ceiling by Giuliano Giamberti, called Giuliano da Sangallo (1443 – 1516). Under the altar is a crypt containing the remains of St. Matthais, who was the Apostle chosen to replace Judas Iscariot. In front of the confessional, which holds the relics of the Nativity, is a kneeling statue of Pope Pius IX.

The Sistine Chapel (Cappella Sistina) was named after Pope Sixtus IV (1471-84). Construction began in 1475 and was completed in 1483. The theme of the chapel, decorated by Michelangelo, is the history of mankind before the coming of Christ. Michelangelo also painted the 'Last Judgement' (1503-13); the theme of this cycle of frescoes is mankind's fate and God as the absolute judge of man's destiny. The vault is Michelangelo's masterpiece and one of the most important paintings in the world.

San Paolo fuori le Mura (St. Paul's Outside the Wall
S. Paolo fuori le Mura is located outside the ancient walls of Rome. The original 4th century basilica, built under Constantine, was destroyed by fire in 1823 and only a few of the original fragments remain. The basilica was formed with the union of the pre-existing Church of San Lorenzo (330 A.D.) and the Church of the Blessed Virgin (432 – 440 A.D.). The confessional below the altar contains the Tomb of St. Paul, who was buried here after his martyrdom in 67 A.D. The spiral columns of the cloisters survived the fire and were built in 1214 by the Vassalletto family, and the gold mosaics by Pietro Cavallini, originally on the facade, were moved to the nave.

Unlike most of Rome’s basilicas, which have three aisles, S. Paolo is a five-aisled church. Eighty granite columns separate the four side aisles from the central nave. Above the columns are mosaic portraits of all 263 Popes, with only the current Pope’s portrait illuminated. Currently, there are only eight vacant spots left for Popes and tradition states that when space runs out the world will end.

The Shoot
In 2000, during the year of the Jubilee, the Vatican granted VRWAY permission to photograph some of its architectural treasures, including the four patriarchal Basilicas.

Capturing the majestic structures in their entire splendor and presenting them in 360-degrees was an arduous task. Our crew was confronted with numerous technical and environmental difficulties: It was winter and the lighting conditions in the Basilicas changed very rapidly; time was very limited as it was the year of the Jubilee with many visitors making the pilgrimage to Rome; the daily Masses regularly forced the production crew to a complete standstill.

VRWAY and VRMAG now present this special project in sixteen fullscreen 360-degree virtual reality panoramas in a range of technology platforms, including QuickTime, Java, and Zoomify.

For more on Mina, read 'In the Studio with Mina' and visit her website www.minamazzini.com

Comments:
- "I cant beleive how beautiful this site is. I started out looking for religious images to save as a background to remind me of my faith before going on to the internet. If you made a screen saver out of these a lot of people would be willing to pay for it. Myself included. I dont know much about computers. Is there a way I could have my computer open up with one of these songs and pictures?"

- "I just got back from rome. My first time there. I was blown away by the churches there. unfortunatly i was having problems with my feet and could not visit some of the churches you have on your site. i did visit santa maria maggiore several times and the huge sculpture of the kneeling pope was one of my favorite. I could not find it in any books or postcards. i love this web site and wish you had more churches. i doubt you will be doing this again but i would encourage you to if you can. the beauty of thses churches just cant be captured in photos. if you decide to expand this, i'll carry the camera equipment for you! i was not able to pan the church areceli though i dont know why. thanks for doing this it is real neat! cyndi " 2004-04-15 18:57:20