Growing up, I had a basic understanding of what the Vatican was; the meaning it held for Catholics, the place it had among the world powers, and the museums. But the specifics eluded me. I attended Catholic Schools through High School, but I only had an abstract concept from others and a vague description in my encyclopedia of the place that held St. Peter’s Basilica and the Pope. This was, of course, before the information superhighway was widely used. Nowadays we have such great resources at our disposal due to the internet.
Now, I frequent two terrific website that go beyond giving the facts and a few photos to describe the Vatican. One is the most interactive website to date on St. Peter’s Basilica. Informative and easy to use, without getting bogged down in using the latest web technology (this means no plug-ins or headaches). Go to: http://www.stpetersbasilica.org/
The other website is the Vatican City State website. This is not to be confused with the Vatican site for the Holy See (http://www.vatican.va/, which is also a fantastic resource). The Vatican City State website is the official website for Vatican City. Its focus is on the physical aspects of the city. There you will find different services that are available (e.g., the pharmacy), places of interest, and how the Vatican government works. A must see before a trip or if you are just interested in making sense of a place that can sometime be an abstract concept. Go to: http://www.vaticanstate.va/EN/homepage.htm
Hope you have fun exploring the Vatican!