VATICAN CITY
The Vatican is the world’s smallest nation, covering just 120 acres (50 ha), and is a theocracy of just over 550 citizens, headed by the pope, but its sightseeing complex is beyond compare. Within its wall are the ornate St. Peter’s Basilica, the astonishing Sistine Chapel, apartments frescoed by Fra Angelico, Raphael, and Pinturicchio, and ten museums. The latter include collections of Egyptian, Greek, Etruscan, and Roman antiquities; Paleochristian, Renaissance, and modern art; and a world-class ethnographic collection.
NEED TO KNOW
Museums and Sistine Chapel: Viale Vaticano 100; 06 6988 3145; open 9am–6pm Mon–Sat (last admission 4pm), 9am–2pm last Sun of the month (free); closed Jan 1 & 6, Feb 11, Easter, Easter Mon, May 1, Jun 29, Aug 15 & 16, Nov 1, Dec 25, 26, & 31; adm $19 ($9 ISIC under 26, under 18)
St. Peter’s Basilica: Piazza San Pietro; 06 6988 3731; open 7am–7pm daily (until 6:30pm Oct–Mar); adm free (basilica); $9 (treasury), $9 (dome via steps), $11 (dome via elevator)
- Within the museums complex, take a break at the cafeteria (with a terrace in the Cortile della Pigna) or the pizzeria in the gardens near the Pavilion of Carriages.
- When in town, the pope gives a mass audience on Wednesday mornings. Book free tickets in advance (Prefecture of the Papal Household, fax 06 6988 5863).
Museum Guide
The Vatican Museums (a 15-minute walk from St. Peter’s) consist of ten collections, the Sistine Chapel, and the Papal Apartments. To see high-lights only, first visit the Pinacoteca, to the right of the entrance turnstile. The Sistine and other collections are to the left.
Plan of the Vatican City
1. Raphael Rooms
Raphael (1483–1520) decorated Julius II’s rooms with frescoes that included the School of Athens, a convention of ancient philosophers bearing portraits of Renaissance artists such as Leonardo da Vinci as bearded Plato in the center.
2. Pio Clementino Museum
This museum has several famous Classical sculptures, including the contorted Hellenistic Laocoön, found in an Esquiline vineyard—Michelangelo saw the unearthing. There are also the Apollo Belvedere and Belvedere Torso, both huge influences on Renaissance artists.
3. Sistine Chapel
Michelangelo’s ceiling is one of the most spectacular works of art in the world (see Sistine Chapel Works of Art).
4. Etruscan Museum
Finds from the Regolini-Galassi tomb of a noble woman (7th century BCE) are the highlights here, including a bronze bed and gold and amber jewelry.
5. Chapel of Nicholas V
The Vatican’s hidden gem is this closet-sized chapel frescoed with early martyrs by Fra Angelico (1400–55).
6. Raphael’s Transfiguration
Raphael was laboring on this gargantuan masterpiece (1517–20) when he died at 37, leaving students to finish the base. It shows Christ appearing to the Apostles in divine glory.
7. Leonardo da Vinci’s St. Jerome
Sketchy and unfinished—Leonardo (1452–1519) was often a distracted genius—this 1482 painting is nevertheless an anatomical masterpiece.
8. Caravaggio’s Deposition
Caravaggio’s (1571–1610) chiaroscuro technique accentuates a diagonal composition filled with grisly realism.
9. Egyptian Museum
The collection consists mostly of sculpture brought from Egypt for temples and private villas and gardens. There are also decorated mummy cases, mummies, and finds from a tomb that include a nit-comb.
10. Borgia Apartments
Borgia pope Alexander VI had these beautiful rooms frescoed by Pinturicchio (1454–1513)—Raphael was once his junior collaborator—between 1492 and 1495. The walls are now hung with lesser pieces from the Modern Art collection.
