For Melania Trump, a Fashionable Entrance and a Special Tour

As soon as Melania Trump set foot on Italian soil on Tuesday, she began to make news. Stefano Gabbana, half of the Dolce & Gabbana brand, spared no time in noting on Instagram that the first lady had stepped off Air Force One wearing one of the label’s designs. “THANK YOU,” he wrote.

Only Roman Catholic queens and princesses are allowed to wear white during a private papal audience, so Mrs. Trump chose a black lace dress and veil over her hair — no word yet on the designer. She also held a rosary, which she asked the pope to bless. He complied.

After the president and his entourage met with Francis, Mrs. Trump was whisked off for a private tour of the Pauline Chapel, which has frescoes by Michelangelo, and of the Sala Regia, where popes held court for centuries. Both halls are normally off limits to the public.

Mrs. Trump then joined the president for a peek at the Sistine Chapel before visiting St. Peter’s Basilica, which was closed to tourists until the visit was over.

Later in the day, she went to the Vatican-owned Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital, where she placed a wreath of flowers at the foot of a statue of the Virgin Mary, known as the Madonna of the Miracle, before briefly visiting the cardiac intensive care unit.

She spent most of her time at the hospital with a small group of young patients, greeting them in Italian, asking how they were, and apologizing for failing to speak the language well, according to reporters who were present.