The Vatican Museums are not one museum but a huge complex consisting of twenty-six museums and galleries. Its history goes back to 1506, when Pope Julius II displayed in the garden of the Vatican the newly found statue "Laocoön and His Sons" — that place later received the name "Court of Statues", and today is called the Octagonal Court. Since then the popes have continuously collected, expanded and commissioned works of art, turning this place into a treasury covering five thousand years of civilisation.
Today the Vatican Museums own approximately 70,000 exhibits, of which about 20,000 are on display. The route of viewing exceeds seven kilometres and passes through approximately 1,400 halls and galleries. From ancient Egyptian funerary art to modern painting, from Etruscan bronze to the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo, from classical sculpture to papal carriages — the collections here cover almost all the most important stages of human civilisation.
The museum complex of the Vatican
The Pio-Clementino Museum
This is the core of the Vatican Museums and the starting point of the papal collection. It was founded by Clement XIV and Pius VI in the 18th century and is dedicated to ancient Greek and ancient Roman sculpture. The museum occupies twelve halls, the most famous of which is the Octagonal Court, where Julius II in 1506 first displayed classical sculptures.
The Raphael Rooms
These four rooms were the private chambers of Pope Julius II, who entrusted their decoration to the young Raphael. Beginning in 1508, Raphael and his pupils created one of the greatest fresco cycles of the Renaissance, including "The School of Athens", "The Disputation of the Holy Sacrament" and "Parnassus". After the death of Julius II, his successor Leo X allowed Raphael to complete the work.
The Sistine Chapel
The most famous part of the Vatican Museums and the pinnacle of all Renaissance art. Initially the chapel was called the "Great Chapel", but it was restored and renamed by Pope Sixtus IV. Julius II entrusted Michelangelo with repainting the ceiling, creating nine scenes from the "Book of Genesis"; more than twenty years later Clement VII entrusted him with creating "The Last Judgment" on the altar wall. On the side walls of the chapel frescoes by Botticelli, Perugino, Ghirlandaio and other Renaissance masters have been preserved.
The Vatican Pinacoteca
The picture gallery of the Vatican, founded by Pius VI in 1790 and given a separate building in 1932 under Pius XI. Here are collected paintings by Italian masters of the 13th–18th centuries: Giotto, Fra Angelico, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, Caravaggio, Perugino and Melozzo da Forlì. The main masterpieces are Raphael`s "Transfiguration", his last unfinished work, and Caravaggio`s "Entombment". This is one of the most important collections of Italian painting in the world, which many tourists undeservedly skip in their haste to reach the Sistine Chapel.
The Raphael Stanze and Loggia
Besides the four rooms, Raphael and his workshop created the Loggia — galleries opening onto the inner courtyard. Their decoration, inspired by antique grotesques, had an enormous influence on European art. Later these motifs were copied for the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg.
The Vatican Library
One of the oldest and most important libraries in the world, founded in 1475. It holds more than 80,000 manuscripts and 1.1 million printed books, including the Vatican Codex — one of the oldest surviving Bibles. Visitors can see the Hall of Sixtus V and other historical halls.
The Chiaramonti Museum
Founded by Pope Pius VII Chiaramonti in the early 19th century, this museum is dedicated to ancient Roman sculpture and contains more than a thousand statues. Here is the famous statue of Augustus of Prima Porta — one of the most recognisable images of the Roman emperor.
The Gregorian Etruscan Museum
Founded by Gregory XVI in 1837, this museum is dedicated to the Etruscan civilisation. Here are collected bronze items, ceramics, sarcophagi and household objects from Etruscan tombs. The Etruscans were the predecessors of the Romans on the Apennine Peninsula, and their art long remained little studied.
The Gregorian Egyptian Museum
This museum, also founded by Gregory XVI, is dedicated to Ancient Egypt. Here you can see mummies, sarcophagi, papyri, statues of deities and pharaohs. Although the collection is inferior in scale to the British Museum or the Louvre, it gives an idea of Egyptian religion, writing and daily life.
The Borgia Apartments
Six private chambers of Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia), located on the first floor of the Apostolic Palace. Alexander VI entrusted their decoration to the artist Pinturicchio, and he with his assistants completed the cycle of frescoes in just two years — from 1492 to 1494. After the pope`s death the rooms were abandoned and remained closed to the public until the end of the 19th century, for which they received the name "the secret rooms". Today the Collection of Modern Religious Art, opened by Paul VI in 1973, is partly housed here. The most famous hall is the Hall of the Saints, where among the frescoes on the theme of divine justice one can see supposed portraits of members of the Borgia family, including the pope himself among the pagan gods.
The Pio-Christian Museum
Founded by Pius IX in 1854, this museum is dedicated to early Christian art. Here are collected sarcophagi, gravestones, mosaics and objects from the catacombs — the underground cemeteries of the first Christians of Rome. This is a key collection for understanding how Christian art was born within Roman culture.
The Museum of Modern Religious Art
Founded by Paul VI in 1973, this museum collects works of modern art on religious themes. Here you can see works by Matisse, Chagall, Dalí, Rodin, Gauguin and other masters of the 19th–20th centuries. The collection shows that the dialogue between art and faith continues to this day.
The Ethnological Museum
Founded by Pius XI in 1926, this museum is dedicated to non-European cultures. Here are collected objects from Africa, Asia, Oceania and America — from ritual masks to Buddhist sculptures. The collection reflects the missionary history of the Catholic Church and its contacts with other civilisations.
The Carriage Court and the Museum of Transport
Here are displayed papal carriages, cars and sedans — from luxurious gilded coaches to the "popemobile". The collection shows how the ways of movement of the popes changed over the centuries.
The Vatican Gardens
Although this is not a museum in the strict sense, the Vatican Gardens are an integral part of the complex. They occupy about 23 hectares and contain fountains, sculptures, pavilions and rare plants. The gardens can be visited only with a guided tour.
St Peter`s Basilica and Square
Although technically St Peter`s Basilica is not part of the Vatican Museums, it is inextricably linked with them. This is the largest church in the world, a masterpiece of Renaissance and Baroque architecture, where Michelangelo`s "Pietà", Bernini`s baldachin and the dome designed by Michelangelo are located.
The main masterpieces of the Vatican Museums
Laocoön and His Sons
One of the most famous sculptures of antiquity, found in Rome in 1506. It depicts the Trojan priest Laocoön and his sons struggling with sea serpents. The sculpture became the starting point of the papal collection and is still considered a model of dramatic art.
The Apollo Belvedere
A Roman copy of a lost Greek bronze statue depicting the god Apollo. It is considered one of the greatest masterpieces of classical sculpture. For many generations of artists it was a model of ideal proportions.
Raphael`s "The School of Athens"
A fresco in the Stanza della Segnatura depicting a gathering of the great philosophers and scholars of antiquity. In the centre — Plato and Aristotle, around them — Socrates, Pythagoras, Euclid, Ptolemy and others. Raphael placed among them both himself and Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.
Michelangelo`s "The Last Judgment"
A huge fresco on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel, completed in 1541. It depicts the second coming of Christ and the Last Judgment. Michelangelo worked on it for almost five years, and it became one of the most influential works of Western art.
The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel
Nine scenes from the "Book of Genesis", including "The Creation of Adam" — one of the most recognisable images in the history of art. Michelangelo worked on the ceiling from 1508 to 1512, and his work changed the idea of what an artist can do.
Michelangelo`s "Pietà"
A sculpture in St Peter`s Basilica depicting the Virgin Mary holding the body of Christ on her knees. Created in 1499, when Michelangelo was only 24 years old. This is the only work he signed.
Raphael`s "Transfiguration"
The last painting by Raphael, which remained unfinished at the time of his death in 1520. It depicts the Transfiguration of Christ and the healing of the possessed boy. The painting is in the Vatican Pinacoteca.
The Gallery of Maps
A long corridor whose walls are painted with maps of Italy and its regions. Created at the end of the 16th century under Pope Gregory XIII. The maps astonish with their detail and artistic execution.
The Gallery of Tapestries
A corridor decorated with Flemish tapestries of the 16th century depicting scenes from the life of Christ. The tapestries were made from cartoons by Raphael and his workshop.
The Gallery of Candelabra
A gallery named after the marble candelabra decorating its walls. Here are displayed Roman sculptures, sarcophagi and mosaics.
Bramante`s Spiral Staircase
The famous double spiral staircase designed by Donato Bramante in 1512. It allows people to ascend and descend at the same time without meeting each other. This is one of the most photographed parts of the museum.
How to find your way in the Vatican Museums
The main route
Most visitors follow the standard route, which leads from the entrance to the Sistine Chapel. It includes:
• The Octagonal Court — antique sculptures;
• The Pio-Clementino Museum — Greek and Roman sculpture;
• The Gallery of Candelabra — Roman art;
• The Gallery of Tapestries — Flemish tapestries;
• The Gallery of Maps — maps of Italy;
• The Raphael Rooms — frescoes by Raphael;
• The Sistine Chapel — Michelangelo.
After the Sistine Chapel you can exit to St Peter`s Basilica or return to the other museums.
Other routes
For those who want to see more, routes are available that include:
• The Pinacoteca — Italian painting;
• The Chiaramonti Museum — Roman sculpture;
• The Ethnological Museum — non-European cultures;
• The Museum of Modern Art — art of the 19th–20th centuries;
• The Vatican Gardens — only with a guided tour.
Practical tips
• Start early. The museum opens at 9:00, but the queues begin long before that. Online tickets with a fixed time help to avoid waiting.
• Allow at least 4 hours. A full route may take a whole day.
• Do not miss the Pinacoteca. Many tourists hurry to the Sistine Chapel and forget about the other collections.
• Water. There are drinking fountains in the museum, and you can fill your bottle.
• Queues. In peak season the queues can be long. Online tickets help to avoid waiting.
• Photos. In most halls they are permitted, but without flash. In the Sistine Chapel photos are prohibited.
The Vatican Museums are not just a collection of works of art. This is the history of the papacy, the history of Rome and the history of Western civilisation, embodied in stone, paint and marble. Here you can spend a day, moving from hall to hall, from ancient Greek sculpture to the frescoes of Raphael, from Etruscan bronzes to modern painting.
