Vatican City is the smallest state in the world, but in terms of the concentration of cultural and religious treasures, it has no equal. Located in the very heart of Rome, this city-state occupies only 44 hectares, but receives millions of tourists and pilgrims from all over the world every year. Here are the largest Christian church on the planet, one of the greatest art collections of humanity, and the residence of the head of the Catholic Church.
A Brief History: From the Apostle Peter to Mussolini
The history of the Vatican as a spiritual center begins with the Apostle Peter — one of the twelve disciples of Christ, who, according to tradition, came to Rome, preached Christianity here, and suffered a martyr`s death around 64–67 during the persecution of Emperor Nero. Peter became the first bishop of Rome, and since then the popes have been considered his successors. There have been 266 popes in total, and the word "pope" itself comes from the Greek "pappas" — "father."
On the site of the supposed tomb of the apostle, Emperor Constantine in the 320s built the first basilica, which for more than a thousand years remained the main church of the Christian world. The modern St. Peter`s Basilica was built from 1506 to 1626, and the Vatican Museums were formed over the centuries as a collection of papal collections.
The modern state of Vatican City appeared only in 1929 as a result of the Lateran Agreements signed under Benito Mussolini. Before that, for almost sixty years the popes had been "prisoners of the Vatican," not recognizing the secular power of Italy. Mussolini, seeking to settle relations with the Church, agreed to create an independent papal state on the territory around St. Peter`s Basilica. Thus the modern Vatican was born — a theocratic monarchy headed by the pope.
The Vatican Museums
The Vatican Museums are not a single institution, but a whole complex of more than a dozen museums, five galleries, and about 1,400 halls, where art treasures collected by the popes since the 16th century are kept. The collections cover ancient Egyptian, Greco-Roman, Etruscan art, the Italian Renaissance, modern art, and ethnology. The total length of the route exceeds seven kilometers, so it is worth allowing at least three to four hours for the visit, or better yet, a whole day.
The Sistine Chapel is the heart and culmination of the entire museum route. It was built in 1477–1480 under Pope Sixtus IV and measures 40 meters in length, 13 in width, and 21 in height. The main treasure of the chapel is Michelangelo`s ceiling frescoes, created in 1508–1512: more than three hundred figures, among which the most famous is "The Creation of Adam." On the altar wall is "The Last Judgment," painted by Michelangelo in 1536–1541. It is also here that conclaves are held — assemblies of cardinals to elect a new pope. Photography is prohibited inside, and conversations must be quiet.
The Raphael Rooms are four halls of the papal apartments, painted by Raphael and his students starting in 1508 by order of Pope Julius II. The most famous hall is the "Room of the Signature," which contains the fresco "The School of Athens," depicting ancient philosophers. These halls are considered the pinnacle of Italian High Renaissance art and are a must-see even on a short visit.
The Pio-Clementino Museum is the largest museum of the Vatican complex, where the main part of the papal collection of ancient sculpture is gathered. Here are such masterpieces as "Laocoön and His Sons," the "Apollo Belvedere," and the "Belvedere Torso," which, according to tradition, inspired Michelangelo. The octagonal courtyard, where these statues are displayed, was formed as early as the beginning of the 16th century and has since remained one of the most impressive spaces of the museum.
The Gallery of Maps is a long corridor 120 meters long and 6 meters wide, leading directly to the Sistine Chapel. The walls of the gallery are decorated with 40 maps of Italian provinces and plans of the main cities, created in 1580–1583. Many tourists pass through it quickly, but the gallery itself is an important monument of cartography and decorative art of the 16th century.
The Gallery of Tapestries is another corridor on the way to the Sistine Chapel, where tapestries created after sketches by Raphael`s students in the 16th century are displayed. They depict scenes from the life of Christ and the apostles and impress with the fineness of the work and their size.
The Pinacoteca is the picture gallery of the Vatican, where paintings from the 11th–19th centuries are presented. Among the exhibits are works by Giotto, Fra Angelico, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, Caravaggio, and other masters. The collection is comparatively small in number but exceptionally valuable in composition.
The Chiaramonti Museum is another collection of ancient sculpture, named after Pope Pius VII Chiaramonti. Here are more than a thousand statues, busts, and reliefs, including the famous statue "Augustus of Prima Porta."
The Etruscan Museum and the Egyptian Museum are two collections dedicated to ancient civilizations. The Etruscan Museum houses artifacts of Etruscan culture, including bronze items and ceramics. The Egyptian Museum contains mummies, sarcophagi, papyri, and statues, giving an idea of ancient Egyptian religion and daily life.
The Museum of Modern Art is a comparatively new part of the Vatican complex, where works of the 20th century are presented, including works by Matisse, Chagall, Dalí, and other artists. The collection shows that the Vatican continues to collect art in modern times as well.
The Museo Pio Cristiano is a collection of early Christian art: sarcophagi, tombstones, mosaics, and objects from the catacombs. This museum is important for understanding how Christian art was formed in the first centuries of its existence.
The Vatican Library is one of the oldest and richest libraries in the world, founded in 1475. It holds more than 80,000 manuscripts, including ancient codices and incunabula. Access for tourists is limited, but some halls can be seen as part of special tours.
The Hall of Chiaroscuro and the Hall of the Chariot are additional exhibition spaces where temporary expositions are held and individual works from the papal collections are kept.
Tickets to the Vatican Museums cost about 20 euros for adults, 10 euros for children from 6 to 18 and students up to 26, children under 6 enter free. The museums are open Monday to Saturday from 8:00 to 20:00, last entry at 18:00; Sunday is a day off, except for the last Sunday of the month, when admission is free, but the queues are especially long. It is better to buy tickets online in advance so as not to waste time waiting.
St. Peter`s Basilica
St. Peter`s Basilica is the largest Christian church in the world, the symbol of the Vatican, and the spiritual center of the Catholic Church. Its construction lasted more than one hundred and twenty years (1506–1626) and united the work of several generations of architects: Bramante, Raphael, Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno, and Bernini. It was Michelangelo who created the design of the grandiose dome, which became the architectural dominant of the basilica.
The basilica impresses with its dimensions: length — about 211 meters, height of the dome with the cross — about 136 meters, diameter of the dome — 42 meters. The interior space can accommodate about 60,000 people. The main treasures of the interior are Michelangelo`s "Pietà" (the only signed work of the master, created in 1499), Bernini`s bronze baldachin 29 meters high over the main altar, the Chair of St. Peter in the apse, and the bronze statue of the Apostle Peter.
Admission to the basilica is free, but you must pass through security. Climbing the dome is paid: on foot about 8 euros, by elevator — about 10 euros. From the height of the dome, the best panorama of Rome and St. Peter`s Square opens up.
St. Peter`s Square and the Colonnade
St. Peter`s Square is a majestic architectural ensemble created by Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini in 1656–1667. It is a grandiose oval space 340 meters long and 240 meters wide, capable of accommodating up to 500,000 people.
Bernini`s colonnade is the main architectural element of the square. It consists of four rows of Doric columns (284 columns in total), above which are installed 140 statues of saints and martyrs. Symbolically, the colonnade represents the "embrace of the Church," open to all believers.
In the center of the square rises an Egyptian obelisk 25 meters high, brought to Rome by Emperor Caligula. On either side of the obelisk are two fountains by Maderno and Fontana (17th century). On the square there are also two points marked on the pavement: if you stand on them, the colonnades visually merge into a single line.
The Apostolic (Papal) Palace
To the right of the colonnade, if you look at the basilica, rises the Apostolic Palace (Palazzo Apostolico) — the official residence of the Pope of Rome and the administrative center of the Holy See. It is not a single building, but a whole complex formed since the 12th century. Today it includes the papal apartments, the Sistine Chapel, the Raphael Rooms, the Vatican Library, and numerous reception halls.
It is in the window on the third floor of the Apostolic Palace that the pope appears every Sunday at noon to recite the prayer "Angelus" before the faithful in the square. On especially solemn days — at Christmas and Easter — the pope delivers the blessing "Urbi et Orbi" from the central balcony of the basilica.
The private papal apartments are closed to tourists, but a significant part of the complex is included in the Vatican Museums. The Swiss Guards, founded in 1506, serve at the entrances to the palace, guarding the pope and the Vatican.
How to See the Pope
There are several ways to see the Pope of Rome:
The Sunday Angelus is the most accessible option. Every Sunday at noon (when the pope is in Rome), he appears at the window of the Apostolic Palace, delivers a short sermon, recites the prayer "Angelus," and gives the apostolic blessing. No tickets are needed — it is enough to come to St. Peter`s Square by noon. Spectators gather around 11:30.
The Papal Audience is held almost every Wednesday at 10:30 in St. Peter`s Basilica or in the Nervi Hall. The event is free but requires a ticket, which must be requested in advance through the Prefecture of the Papal Household. Tickets can be obtained by email or fax, as well as through tour operators.
The Papal Mass is held on special days, most often in St. Peter`s Square. Tickets are also free but hard to get and require an advance request.
Holiday appearances — at Christmas and Easter, the pope performs special services and blessings. This is the best time to visit, but tickets must be requested a month or two in advance.
Places in the Vatican Accessible Only with a Tour
Most of the Vatican — the museums, St. Peter`s Basilica, St. Peter`s Square — can be explored by tourists independently, without a guide and without prior booking. However, there are several places where free access is closed: you can only get there as part of an official tour, and tickets for them cannot be bought on site.
The Vatican Gardens (Giardini Vaticani)
The Vatican Gardens occupy more than half of the state`s territory — about 44 hectares. They were laid out in 1279 under Pope Nicholas III and for centuries served as a place of rest and prayer for the popes. This is a closed territory: there is no free entry here, and you can only get into the gardens with an organized tour booked in advance.
There are two main formats. The first is a tour on an open mini-bus lasting about 45 minutes: you ride along the main alleys with an audio guide but do not get out of the vehicle. The second is a walking tour lasting about two hours: a guide leads the group along the paths, and you can examine the fountains, sculptures, Italian parterres, the rose garden, and the grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes. The walking option is considered more complete and is recommended for those who want to truly see the gardens, not just ride through them.
Tours of the gardens usually include a visit to the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel without queuing. They must be booked in advance — in high season, several weeks or even months ahead, as the groups are small and fill up quickly.
The Vatican Necropolis and the Tomb of St. Peter (Scavi)
Beneath St. Peter`s Basilica, at a depth of about ten meters, lies an ancient necropolis — a pagan and early Christian cemetery of the 1st–4th centuries, discovered in 1939–1941 during work under the floor of the basilica. It is here, according to tradition and archaeological data, that the tomb of the Apostle Peter is located, over which Emperor Constantine built the first basilica.
This place is not part of the usual museum routes. You can only get into the necropolis on a special tour organized by the Office of Archaeological Excavations of the Vatican (Ufficio Scavi). The groups are very small — up to 12 people, tours are conducted in several languages, including English and Italian, and last about an hour. The request must be sent in advance by email or fax, and confirmation does not always come: the demand is enormous, and the capacity is limited. Children under 15 are not admitted to the necropolis.
The Niccoline Chapel (Cappella Niccolina)
In the Apostolic Palace there is a small private chapel, painted by Fra Angelico in 1447–1451 for Pope Nicholas V. It is considered one of the best examples of the Early Renaissance and depicts scenes from the lives of Saints Stephen and Lawrence. The chapel is not part of the standard route of the Vatican Museums: you can only get into it as part of a limited tour, which must be booked separately and in advance. Due to the size of the room, groups are formed rarely, and access is often restricted.
What Is Important to Know
Tours to closed areas are booked in advance, often several weeks or months ahead, and are not sold at the entrance. They include skip-the-line entry, so they often turn out to be more convenient and advantageous than an independent visit with the purchase of separate tickets. If you want to see the gardens and the necropolis, plan them as separate items of your program and reserve places in advance.
Practical Information
• Getting there: metro line A, Ottaviano — San Pietro station (5–10 minutes on foot). Buses No. 49, 32, 492.
• Dress code: shoulders and knees must be covered. Shorts, short skirts, and tank tops are prohibited — you will not be allowed in wearing them. This is strictly enforced at the entrance to the basilica and the museums.
• Opening hours: museums — Monday–Saturday from 8:00 to 20:00, Sunday closed. Basilica — daily from 7:00 to 18:30 (in summer until 19:00). Dome — from 8:00 to 17:00 (in summer until 18:00).
• Tickets: museums — about 20 euros (adults), 10 euros (reduced). Basilica — free. Dome — about 8–10 euros.
• Tips: come at the opening of the museums (8:00) to avoid the crowd. Buy tickets online. Wear comfortable shoes — you will have to walk a lot. In high season (June–August) the queues are especially long, and the wait at the security check can exceed 30 minutes.
Vatican City is a place where in one day you can see masterpieces by Michelangelo and Raphael, touch the two-thousand-year history of Christianity, hear the voice of the pope, and climb the dome of the largest church in the world. Despite its tiny size, this state possesses cultural wealth that has no equal. Come early in the morning, plan several hours for the museums, do not forget about the basilica and the dome — and the Vatican will open up to you in all its fullness.
