Location and History

To reach their new entrance, inaugurated by the Pope the 7th of February 2000, starting from "Piazza S. Pietro" you can go to "Piazza Risorgimento" through the right arcade, then you can pass through "via Leone IV" and "viale Vaticano". This new entrance consists of a great helicoidal ramp,165 metres high, recalling the Louvre's pyramid, and has the aim of forming one-way only to avoid slowings and queues. The Vatican Museums are expanding on four levels and on an area of 10.000 square metres. The first works, which are kept here, date back to the Renaissance; since then on, Popes continued and completed to gather and to select the greatest treasures of art

Description

They are divided in several sections. You can start from the Egyptian museum, which occupies ten rooms, then you can see the Chiaramonti museum, where about one thousand Greek and Roman sculptures are shwed.In the lapidary gallery there are thousands of inscriptions which make in the richest one in the world. In the Pio Clementino museum, besides numerous Roman sculptures, which are copies of famous Greek original ones, like the Laocoonte, you can admire the bronze "Amazzone ferita" and some works by A. Canova, like the "Perseo". The Etruscan museum keeps objects coming from Etruria excavations and private donations in addition to Roman works and a collection of Greek vases. Among the most remarkable pieces there are those coming from the famous Cerveteri  tomb. The Raffaello's rooms are a fixed stop in the Vatican Museums: they are so called because keep frescoes by the famous artist. In the room of the Segnatura, which was the Giulio II's study, you can find the "Disputa del SS. Sacramento", the "Scuola di Atene" and the "Parnaso". In the Constantine's room there are some frescoes by Master's pupils. Going on, you can see the Raffaello's loggia decorated with scenes of the Old and New Testament; it was begun by Bramante and completed by Raffaello. A little bit further, there are Chiaroscuri's room, the ceiling of which is decorated with Raffaello's designs, the Nicolina Chapel with frescoes by Beato Angelico and the Borgia's flat decorated nearly in full by Pinturicchio's frescoes. The collection of modern religious art  occupies 55 rooms and consists of about 800 paintings and religious sculptures. The Sistina Chapel, recently restored, was completed in 1480. You can admire, on its left side, scenes of Mosè's life, and, on its right side, scenes of Christ's life. Its vault was decorated by Michelangelo who painted also the famous "Giudizio Universale" on the main wall

Facilities

• Photographic Archives
• Accessible for disabled
• Archives
• Guided tours
• Bookshop
• Audio guides
• Bar

Booking and Guided Tours

Online Booking
Allows you to reserve your visit to any of the museums on the day and time that you want. This way you go to the front of the line with your pre-paid reservation and have more time to enjoy inside the museum.