The Vatican Museums

The Vatican Museums form part of the Vatican City State; access is from the Viale Vaticano.

Getting there: Ottaviano – San Pietro metro station, or by bus on lines 23, 34, 60, 62, etc.

Address: Viale Vaticano, 100

Opening hours: Monday to Saturday from 8:00 to 20:00 (ticket office closes at 18:00). On 24 and 31 December, from 8:00 to 14:00 (ticket office closes at 13:00). Closed on Sundays except the last Sunday of the month, when it opens from 9:00 to 14:00 with free entry. Closed on 1 and 6 January, 11 February, 19 March, Easter Sunday and Monday, 1 May, 29 June, 14 August, 15 August, 1 November, 8 December, 25 and 26 December.

Ticket prices (including the Sistine Chapel): €20 full price, free for under-6s, reduced to €8 for visitors aged 6 to 18. Audioguide €8. You can buy tickets directly on the official website that allow you to skip the queue for a €5 supplement. We strongly recommend buying online to avoid queues that can be very long.

Official website of the Vatican Museums

This exceptional collection was built up over the centuries by the popes, often patrons and collectors of art and antiquities. The various Vatican Museums present an immense collection; do not expect to see everything in a single visit. For a first visit, we advise you to concentrate on the major works. The main sections of the museum are as follows:

Chiaramonti Museum:

Here you will find a great many statues from the Imperial period (around a thousand), lined up along the gallery. The statues are identified by two numberings: the first in Roman numerals designates the sections (an even side and an odd side), and the second numbering in Arabic numerals designates the work itself.

Some of them deserve particular attention, such as:

Mercury (section XXV number 3), god of commerce, of physicians and of travellers, recognisable by the purse he holds in his hand and by his caduceus.

Hercules (section XXXVII number 3), demi-god, hero of many adventures, recognisable by his club and his lion skin.

At the end of the gallery you will find the Braccio Nuovo, a second gallery that houses the works Napoleon had confiscated …

This gallery houses Roman works and copies of Greek originals.

You will find many masterpieces of sculpture, including those representing:

The emperor Augustus, in cuirass and toga, with his arm raised.

The statue of the Doryphoros, a spear-bearing soldier, a copy of the famous Greek work by Polykleitos, and a statue representing the Nile surrounded by animals of the region as well as 16 children symbolising the 16 cubits reached by the Nile floods.

The floor is decorated with mosaics.

Pio-Clementino Museum:

This section of the Vatican Museums houses many masterpieces. It is devoted to Greek and Roman sculpture and includes some of the Vatican's most famous works, such as the Apollo Belvedere, the Laocoön group, and the spectacular porphyry sarcophagi. We advise you to take the time to admire these major works.

The Laocoön group, in the Belvedere Courtyard, depicts an episode from the Aeneid in which the Trojan priest Laocoön and his two sons struggle against two venomous serpents sent by Athena to punish him for having warned the Trojans against the horse left by the Greeks. The statue was found in Nero's Domus Aurea. To learn more about the Laocoön group.

This Apollo, in the Belvedere Courtyard, is one of the most famous works of ancient sculpture.

Apollo is shown with his arm extended, perhaps holding a bow, a cloak falling over that arm.

It has inspired many artists over time.

After the courtyard, you will pass through the Room of the Animals, housing a veritable sculpted zoo.

Continuing the visit you will discover several monumental elements in red porphyry, including the tombs of Saint Helena, wife of the emperor Constantine the Great, and that of their daughter Constantia.

You will continue the visit through various galleries, including those of the candelabra, the tapestries and the geographical maps.

Gallery of Maps:

The Gallery of Maps was created at the end of the 16th century to represent the different parts of Italy, with plans of the regions and cities.

Raphael's Rooms:

Created for Pope Julius II (who also initiated the construction of St Peter's Basilica) who wished to leave the apartments of his predecessor Alexander VI (a pope of loose morals), these 4 rooms are decorated with frescoes designed by Raphael and comprise:

The Room of Constantine, the largest, was used for receptions. It is devoted to the first emperor to convert to Christianity; the frescoes illustrate the victory of Christianity over the ancient religions.

The Room of Heliodorus: this room served for the pope's private audiences; the frescoes illustrate God's protection of the Church.

The Room of the Signature (Segnatura): this room takes its name from the judicial body it housed. It was here that the pope presided over the tribunal of the "Segnatura Gratiae et Iustitiae". It is the best-known room and contains Raphael's finest frescoes. Each wall is devoted to a theme: Theology, Philosophy, Justice and Poetry.

The Room of the Fire in the Borgo: this room was also occupied by the tribunal of the "Segnatura Gratiae et Iustitiae". The room takes its name from the fresco illustrating the fire in the Borgo in 847, the quarter around the Vatican, miraculously stopped by a blessing from the pope.

The other frescoes illustrate the coronation of Charlemagne (depicted with the features of the French king Francis I), the oath of Leo III (recalling that the pope is accountable only to God) and the Battle of Ostia, recalling the victory of the papal armies over the Saracens.

The Borgia Apartments

The Borgia Apartments comprise a series of rooms with rich decoration. Created at the request of Pope Alexander VI, of the Borgia family, these apartments include superb frescoes by Pinturicchio and his workshop. You can also discover works of modern religious art there.

Alexander VI was a scandalous pope, living a life of debauchery with his family in the Vatican. The mother of his 4 children is depicted as the Virgin of the Annunciation in the frescoes!

The Pinacoteca:

This section too is very rich, with works by the greatest artists. You can admire, among others, paintings by Giotto, Fra Angelico, Raphael, Caravaggio, Titian …

Egyptian Museum:

Here you will find Egyptian antiquities discovered in Rome. Egyptian art was greatly appreciated in ancient Rome, and many works were imported or even copied on the spot.

Etruscan Museum:

As its name indicates, here you will find many archaeological pieces found mainly in the Etruscan necropolises: jewellery, sarcophagi and funerary objects.