The Vatican tour includes a guided tour into the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel and the St Peter’s Basilica. In the Vatican tour you will have the chance to find out the extraordinary collections stored in one of the most important art gatherings in the world.
In the tour you will be allowed to skip the long queues of the Vatican Museums which frequently can even take two hours of waiting. Every group will be composed of a maximum of 25 people and every visitor will be provided with headphones in order not to miss the guide’s explanation.
Once in the Vatican Museums you will cross the Cortile della Pigna which takes its name from the giant bronze pinecone located in the courtyard; it is a Roman work found in the Baths of Agrippa.
Then, you will arrive at the Gallery of Maps which is one of the brightest and most fascinating places in the Vatican Museums. The Gallery is 120 metres long and it gathers all the maps which represent and anticipate both the geographical and spiritual unification of Italy. You will visit the Tapestry Gallery which includes some tapestries from the ‘Scuola Nuova’. Once arrived in the Pio-Clementino Museum you will admire some of the most important collections of Greco-Roman sculptures in the world such as the Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus’ sarcophagus, also known as Scipio Africanus, the Apollo of the Belvedere, the Laocoön, the statue of Hermes, the statue of Venus Felix, the Triumphant Perseus, the boxers Kreugas and Damoxenos.
The Sistine Chapel will leave you breathless since it is one of the most famous cultural and artistic treasures in the world. At its core, for ages, the Conclave and other official ceremonies of the Pope usually take place there. The message of the Vault and of the entire Sistine Chapel is a signal of universal faith. The frescoes of “The Last Judgement” painted by Michelangelo Buonarroti demonstrate the majesty of his artistic marvel.
In the St Peter’s Basilica you will admire many artworks including: the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica done by Michelangelo, the St. Peter’s Baldachin done by Bernini, the bronze statue of Saint Peter made by Arnolfo di Cambio, Pope John Paul II’s grave (Karol Jòzef Wojtyla) and Michelangelo Buonarroti’s Pietà.
In St Peter’s square you will look up to the majestic colonnade designed by Bernini and there the guide will disclose to you all the secrets of this masterpiece designed with artistic and technical engineering. Right here the Vatican tour will end.
