Vatican City State was founded following the signing of the Lateran Pacts between the Holy See and Italy on February 11th 1929. These were ratified on June 7th 1929.
Vatican Museums
The Vatican Museums (‘ I Museu Vaticani ‘) are one of the largest museums in the world with a huge collection ranging from art treasures from Roman and Egyptian antiquity, religious objects, beautifully painted rooms and even modern art. The 26 different ‘museums’ of the e are housed in a complex of several Apostolic Palaces and are by far the most popular museum in Rome, partly because of the famous Sistine Chapel. During your visit you will be amazed by the many art treasures that the popes have collected here, spread over 54 rooms, since the 16th century.
Visiting the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican
The highlight of the route through the Vatican Museum is a visit to the Sistine Chapel (Capella Sistina). The name is derived from the founder of the chapel, Pope Sixtus IV. The impressive ceiling of this 15th century Sistine Chapel was painted in the 16th century by Michelangelo and depicts, among other things, the story of creation and the flood. The side walls are also beautiful with paintings about the life of Jesus made by Ghirlandaio, Botticelli, Perugino and Pinturicchio. Furthermore, on the wall behind the altar you will find Michelangelo’s painting of the ‘Last Judgement’. The Sistine Chapel is best known as the room where the cardinals meet in conclave to elect the new pope. When a new pope is elected, smoke comes out of the chimney of the chapel twice a day. White smoke when the new pope has been elected, black smoke if the cardinals have not succeeded in their mission.
Other highlights of the Vatican Museums
If you want to learn a lot about the background of all the works in the Vatican Museums, it is advisable to use an audio guide. If you want to go through the museum faster, these are, besides of course the Sistine Chapel, the most important rooms and works in the Vatican Museums that you should not miss:
Stanza della Segnatura : This room is located on the second floor and was originally the library of Pope Julius II, but was later used as an ecclesiastical tribunal. This room is a highlight of the Vatican because of the paintings by Rafael Santi.
Raphael’s Rooms: These rooms on the first floor were decorated by Raphael Santi on behalf of Pope Julius II. The paintings represent theology, philosophy, poetry and law. For example, the famous painting of the ‘School of Athens ‘ from 1509 depicts philosophy with the philosophers Plato and Aristotle depicted in the centre.
Laocoön Group: A marble statue group from 40–20 BC depicting the Trojan priest Laocoön and his sons. According to tradition, the priest wanted to prevent the city from taking the Trojan horse. In the statue, Laocoön is being strangled by Poseidon’s snakes.
The Galleria della Carte geografiche: On the first floor is the 16th century map gallery with huge topographic maps on the walls and ceiling. The 40 magnificent wall panels are the work of Ignazio Danti.
The Vatican Pinacoteca: On the ground floor is a large collection of tapestries and paintings from the Vatican with works by great masters such as Caravaggio, Leonardo da Vinci, Titian and Raphael Sant.
Without tickets it is not possible to visit the Vatican Museums. A limited number of visitors are admitted per hour and due to the enormous popularity of the Vatican Museums it is strongly recommended to book Vatican Museum tickets in advance, which will allow you to secure your visit at your desired time slot and as a great advantage you will avoid long queues. Check the offer of our partner GetyourGuide: