Vatican City II

Postcard of the Vatican City's famous Swiss Guards, who have been defending the country for over 500 years. The Swiss Guard is known for its elaborate ceremonial uniforms, pictured here, which hark back to the Guards' Renaissance origins.

Stamp from a 2007 set of four depicting Pope Benedict XVI on his travels around the world, in this case, Germany, and features the famous towers of the Munich Frauenkirche.

Vatican City

The Baroque Piazza San Pietro (St. Peter's Plaza) in front of St. Peter's Basilica was laid out in 1656 around an ancient Egyptian obelisk that was already in situ. The layout is such that the Basilica appears nearer as one walks away from it, its breadth shortened while its height extends.

Although this postcard states it is from "Roma", St. Peter's Basilica and it's Piazza are actually located in the Vatican City. The Piazza is a part of the Vatican City UNESCO World Heritage site.

This postcard is extra notable because it was the last one I received before leaving France.

The standard Italian postal rate stamp for sale at tabaccheria around Italy, for all those times when one can't make it to the post office.