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Vatican Museums

The Pope's Treasure House

With collections from the Roman Catholic Church and successive popes, the Vatican Museums are the fourth most visited museums in the world. It consists of galleries such as the Gregorian Egyptian Museum and the Pio Clementino Museum. The Sistine Chapel and the Raphael's Rooms of the Apostolic Palace are also open to visitors.

Located on the north side of St. Peter's Basilica and Square, the Vatican Museums (Musei Vaticani) have collections mainly from the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope’s collection. The museum exhibits sculptures, paintings, tapestries, jewelry and other decorative objects from ancient Egypt thousands of years ago to the present day, with many masterpieces by Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci and others. It is The 4th Most Visited Museum in the World.

The Vatican Museums began at the beginning of the 16th century, following renovations by successive popes, they are today an architectural complex of small museums, courtyards, galleries and the Apostolic Palace (Papal Palace), with a collection of over 70,000 objects.

Gregorian Egyptian Museum was built in the early 19th century, the museum houses artifacts from ancient Egypt and Rome, such as mummies, papyruses, and Egyptian Sculptures.

Next to the Gregorian Egyptian Museum is the Pio Clementino Museum, exhibiting Greek and Roman artifacts. It is one of the main galleries of the Vatican Museums and consists of nine exhibition areas. Since the 16th century, The Octagonal Court has been the place where the Pope exhibits his ancient sculpture collection to the world, with statues such as Laocoon and His Sons, Apollo Belvedere, and Perseus. The sculpture Belvedere Torso inside Hall of the Muses (Sala delle Muse) is another treasure of the Vatican Museums.

Laocoon and His Sons, 1st century A.D.

The Apostolic Palace (Papal Palace), adjacent to St. Peter’s Square, dates from around the 5th century, long before the Vatican Museums. Today, part of the Palace is open to visitors as a museum, the famous Sistine Chapel (Cappella Sistina) and Raphael’s Rooms are located in the Palace.

The Sistine Chapel, built in the 15th century, is famous for Michelangelo’s paintings, including the ceiling painting Scenes from Genesis and the frescoes The Last Judgment. These two frescoes are completed more than 20 years apart, and the comparison shows Michelangelo’s inner turmoil from the prime of his life to his twilight years.

The Creation of Adam from the Sistine Chapel Ceiling Painting

The Last Judgment, by Michelangelo, 1536-1541

The Raphael's Rooms, located on the second floor of the Apostolic Palace, were once the residence of Pope Julius II. These four rooms contain Raphael’s masterpieces such as The School of Athens, Disputation of the Holy Sacrament, and The Parnassus.

Borgia Apartment is located one floor below the Raphael’s rooms, it was the private room of another Pope, Alexander VI. In the 15th century, Pinturicchio, a member of the Borgia family, decorated these rooms with lavish frescoes.

Manywhere Trivia:
I’m sure those who have played Ubisoft Assassin’s Creed 2 are familiar with the final scene where Ezio chased Rodrigo to the Sistine Chapel, and this big man of the Borgia family was Pope Alexander VI.

The journey from the Egyptian and Greek pavilions to the Apostolic Palace, where the Sistine Chapel is located, is through a 300-meter-long Passage that displays collections such as candelabras, tapestries and maps.

The Vatican Museums also has several outdoor courtyards, Pinecone Courtyard (Cortile della Pigna) is the largest of them. The pinecone fountain (Fontana della Pigna) on the north side of the courtyard is from the Old St. Peter’s Basilica, and in the center of the courtyard is a modern artwork – Sphere Within Sphere, by Italian sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro.

The collection of the Vatican Museums actually goes much further than this. The double-helix-shaped modern Bramante Staircase is always a huge attraction to visitors. The endless queue is another symbol of the fourth-most-visited art museum in the world.