Are you thinking about a tour of the Vatican Museums in Rome but you just can’t decide which sections of the museum to see?
If you want to visit Rome, or you simply live in this magnificent city, you absolutely can’t miss the appointment with one of the most beautiful museums in the world.
I know, visiting the Vatican Museums in one day feels like an impossible task. The collection is so vast that you would need at least 2 or 3 days to see all the works kept there.
There are also several online platforms suggesting guided tours of the Vatican Museums, but they are not all the same! I recommend booking the guided tour of the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel, which not only lets you discover the most beautiful works of this museum, but also lets you get in quickly without queuing.
Buying your ticket online is a real time-saver, because the queue at the Vatican Museums’ ticket office is truly endless.
If instead you just want to find out which are the most beautiful works of the Vatican Museums, in this short guide I have selected 9 masterpieces you absolutely must know. I’ll tell you the curiosities and a few essential details, but without boring you too much.
Would you like to know a little more?
Let’s go!
A bit of history about the Vatican Museums
Before discovering the most beautiful works of the Vatican Museums, it helps to know at least a little of the history of this museum and how it came to be. I promised not to bore you, so I’ll try to sum up only the most important facts.
First of all, you should know that the first core of the Vatican Museums was born from the collection of extraordinary sculptures gathered by Julius II, who was pontiff from 1503 to 1513.
This Pope was a great lover of the arts and an important patron. It was he who asked Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and Raphael to fresco the famous Vatican rooms. To Julius II we also owe the construction of the new Basilica of St. Peter and the beautiful statue of Michelangelo’s Moses, meant to decorate his funeral monument, which was never finished.
Some sculptures from his collection are today kept in the octagonal courtyard of the Vatican Museums, and among them are a few that inspired great artists for centuries.
Of course, Julius II was not the only art-loving pope.
Over time, other collector popes contributed to enriching the Vatican Museums in Rome, and even important figures connected to them. One of the most interesting, whom I really want you to know about, is Scipione Borghese who, being the nephew of Pope Paul V, took advantage of it to build his personal collection at Galleria Borghese, sometimes even with less-than-lawful methods.
So what should you see at the Vatican Museums?
As with the Louvre in Paris, the Vatican Museums are divided into several sections, according to the historical period or the works they hold. There is a section of Egyptian art, one of Roman art, one of Etruscan and Greek art, and many others. It’s impossible not to mention the beautiful Raphael Rooms, the very rich Pinacoteca and the Sistine Chapel.
Let me start by telling you about one of the finest masterpieces of Roman art… the Laocoön of the Vatican Museums.
1 – The statue of the Laocoön at the Vatican Museums
The statue of the Laocoön is one of the most beautiful and best-preserved of classical antiquity. A copy of this statue can also be found at the Uffizi in Florence, but the original Laocoön is right here, inside the Vatican Museums.
What does this work tell?
The story of the Laocoön is closely linked to the Trojan war. Legend has it that, when the Trojans decided to bring the famous horse given to them by the Achaeans into the city, the priest Laocoön warned his fellow citizens, urging them not to accept the gift of their enemies. Athena, who was on the side of the Greeks, then sent two sea serpents to devour the sons of the unfortunate priest, who was killed in the attempt to save them.
What happened next, I think you already know.
The Trojans brought the horse inside the city walls, unaware that its belly hid the best Greek warriors. During the night they took advantage of it to open the gates, starting a real massacre.
But where is the Laocoön?
The statue is kept in the octagonal courtyard of the Vatican Museums. It is an incredible example of the mastery reached by the sculptors of ancient Rome, even if it is probably a copy of a Greek original.
The group is about 240 cm tall and was made between the 1st century BC and the 1st century AD. It is thought that the original was bronze and the work of some of the greatest sculptors of antiquity: Hagesander, Athenodoros and Polydorus.
Incredible, isn’t it?
If you liked the statue of the Laocoön at the Vatican Museums, you should know that these three superb artists are probably also the authors of the beautiful statue of Ulysses and Polyphemus kept at the Museum of Sperlonga. I really recommend going to see it, and touring the beautiful villa and grotto of Tiberius too.
You won’t regret it!
2 – Raphael’s Rooms at the Vatican Museums
Here is a little anecdote about the Raphael Rooms at the Vatican Museums!
When Pope Julius II decided to decorate his private rooms, he called some of the greatest artists and asked them to fresco the walls of four large halls. But when he saw the paintings of the very young Raphael, he sent all the others away and asked him to continue the whole work alone.
The Raphael Rooms at the Vatican Museums are one of the greatest masterpieces of the painter from Urbino. Here are kept some of the most famous frescoes in the world, including that of the School of Athens. This one is famous because the characters portrayed as philosophers are in fact the most important figures of the time (I’ve also written about it here).
In the Room of Heliodorus you’ll notice instead one of the most beautiful nocturnes in art history, on the window wall. The light of the moon and the torch reflecting on the soldiers’ armour is painted to perfection.
In short, when you visit the Vatican Museums, don’t forget about it!
3 – The Pigna of the Courtyard of the Pine Cone
In the Vatican Museums you’ll find every kind of Roman art, from statues to mosaics, from sarcophagi to pottery. Among the most important and impressive works, however, is an enormous pine cone.
So… is it just a pine cone?
Don’t let the name fool you.
The so-called “Pigna” is about 4 metres tall and dates back to the 2nd century AD. This bronze sculpture was once a colossal fountain. It was found near the Campo Marzio, in the area known as the Pigna district, so named precisely after the discovery.
Originally the sculpture adorned the courtyard of the ancient Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican; it was later moved to its current location in the 17th century, inside the great niche that closes the courtyard. It is from this sculpture that the courtyard takes its name, the Courtyard of the Pine Cone.
4 – The Sistine Chapel, a masterpiece of the Renaissance
The Sistine Chapel is usually the last stop of the Vatican Museums tour, and one of the most impressive.
Rivers of ink have been spilled over Michelangelo’s work, because it is not only one of the most beautiful masterpieces of the Renaissance, but also full of curiosities. For example, among the many things often overlooked, not everyone knows that Michelangelo was not the only genius to work in this chapel.
The Sistine Chapel was built by Pope Sixtus IV (hence the name Sistina) in 1475, and was decorated by some of the greatest artists of the time, including Ghirlandaio, Perugino, Signorelli, Botticelli and Pinturicchio. They are the authors of the scenes along the walls of the Sistine Chapel, the lower ones, to be clear.
I recommend you pause to admire the cycles of stories from the Old and New Testament; they are simply stunning.
But there’s more!
The wall that now hosts the splendid Last Judgment by Michelangelo was once meant to be decorated with scenes of the birth of Jesus and the life of the Virgin. The vault of the chapel, on the other hand, was painted as a starry sky before it hosted the cycle Michelangelo created.
According to some, the measurements of the chapel would even echo those of the Temple of Solomon and its proportions as reported in the Bible.
Would you ever have guessed?
If you want to dig deeper, you can read my post entirely dedicated to Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel, where I tell you 5 more anecdotes worth knowing.
Of all the works of the Vatican Museums, this is surely the most sensational.
5 – The Stefaneschi Triptych
Did you know that inside the Vatican Museums there is also one of the most beautiful works by Giotto?
Often, when you think of this museum, the greatest Renaissance artists come to mind, and you don’t even imagine you can also find works straddling the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
One of Giotto’s finest masterpieces is kept right here, in the Vatican Pinacoteca. It is a huge triptych in vivid colours with a golden background, showing St. Peter on one side and Jesus on the other. The painting was probably meant for the high altar of the Basilica of St. Peter and, strangely, it is not signed.
So how do we know it was really made by Giotto?
Luckily his name is mentioned in the “Book of Benefactors”, where the works commissioned by Cardinal Stefaneschi and the artists tasked with making them are listed.
But why is it so important?
This painting is a sort of summary of the study Giotto had already developed inside the Basilica of Assisi. When you find yourself in front of it, you’ll notice how the artist tries to depict the figures with extreme realism and a very effective use of perspective.
But there’s more!
Giotto’s works are important because, compared to the Middle Ages, he begins to give the characters a more human characterisation. At the Vatican Museums you’ll see how the martyrdom of St. Paul is represented through gestures of emotion, surprise and despair… something that seems quite normal to us, but which for the time was an absolute novelty.
Here are a couple of little curiosities!
If you pay attention to the details, you’ll notice some glimpses of the Rome of the time, like the Pyramid of Cestius and the Meta Romuli in the left panel. On the hill to the right, where the martyrdom of St. Paul is shown, there is instead the lighthouse of Ostia.
6 – The Belvedere Torso
The Belvedere Torso is a fragment of a statue kept at the Vatican Museums, and it has the peculiarity of being without a head, without arms and without legs.
So what’s so special about it?
Very simply, this statue bears witness to the importance of Greek sculpture and the way it was received and reworked by the Romans. It is in fact signed by the Greek sculptor Apollonius of Athens, and it has an incredible expressive force, despite the mutilations.
You should know that this work of the Vatican Museums was an object of study and inspiration for many Renaissance artists. When you stand in front of it, you’ll see how the muscles of the back and thighs are carved, the way the anatomy is described, and a pose that is certainly uncommon.
Don’t you find that the Christ of Michelangelo’s Last Judgment is portrayed in a very similar position?
Over the centuries this sculpture has been the subject of various interpretations, trying to explain who the figure originally was. Among the most credited hypotheses, and currently accepted, is one that would identify it with Ajax the Great, the Greek hero of the Iliad.
Apparently, the statue would portray him in the act of contemplating suicide after Ulysses took from him the arms of Achilles during the Trojan war.
7 – The sarcophagus of Saint Helena
Saint Helena is one of the most important figures of Christianity. Not only was she the mother of Constantine, the first Christian emperor, but during her life she spent a great deal of time and energy searching for the relics of the cross of Christ in Jerusalem.
But why should a sarcophagus be so important?
The sarcophagus of Saint Helena at the Vatican Museums is made entirely of red porphyry, a very rare stone and among the most precious materials in the world. Maybe you didn’t know, but the quarries of this material were in Egypt, and were so heavily exploited by the Romans that they were already exhausted by the 5th century AD. Its purple-red colour made it the stone reserved for Roman emperors and their families.
But that’s not the only reason it’s important!
Porphyry, in fact, is an extremely hard stone and difficult to work, especially with the means of the time. That’s why the sculptures on the empress’s enormous sarcophagus are all the more remarkable. The glossy colour and the polishing also make the sculptures look even more alive!
The sarcophagus was found in the imperial mausoleum at Tor Pignattara and moved inside the Vatican Museums only in 1777.
On the sides of the chest you can observe military scenes, with Roman horsemen subduing barbarian prisoners. This depiction, on a woman’s sarcophagus, is rather unusual, and has led some to think it was originally meant for a male figure such as Constantius Chlorus or, more likely, Constantine himself.
8 – The Pinacoteca of the Vatican Museums
I’ve been to the Vatican Museums at least three times, but I had never visited the Vatican Pinacoteca. Skipping it is a big mistake, because it holds beautiful masterpieces, such as Raphael’s Transfiguration, Giotto’s Triptych, and works by Guercino, Caravaggio, Veronese, Leonardo, Guido Reni, Perugino, Beato Angelico, Filippo Lippi and Bellini.
My favourite?
I fell in love with Melozzo da Forlì and the painting “Sixtus IV appoints Platina prefect of the Vatican Library (1477)”.
9 – The Gallery of Maps
This gallery was created at the end of the 16th century and still today is a very precious document of the geographical knowledge of the sixteenth century.
It runs along a beautiful corridor of the Vatican Museums, enriched with beautiful coloured stuccoes and with the maps of all the regions of Italy, its ports and islands.
The peculiarity of this gallery?
Many maps are shown as if seen from Rome, and so they appear upside down to the modern observer. You’ll be impressed by the precision and the detail with which even the smallest villages are represented!
Imagine my astonishment when, on one of these old maps, I even found the name of my little home village in Umbria, Castel Santa Maria.
Ah, a similar gallery, though much smaller, can also be found at Palazzo Farnese in Caprarola.
How to book the Vatican Museums
Booking a visit to the Vatican Museums in Rome is not as simple as it seems. They are, in fact, one of the most visited museums in the capital and among the most important in the world.
The classic way to buy a ticket for the Vatican Museums is to wake up at the crack of dawn and get in line. But you’ll realise that, unfortunately, you’ll be in the company of hundreds of other people, and you risk wasting a lot of time in the crowd.
If you want to save time, my advice is to book online the guided tour of the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s.
With a guided tour you completely skip the queue at the entrance and get priority access, so you won’t risk getting stuck in line. You’ll have a tour guide, a headset, priority entry to the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel and, if you choose the option with the Basilica, entry to St. Peter’s too. An expert guide really makes the difference: it helps you find your way around a boundless collection and catch the details you’d miss on your own.
If instead you prefer to visit at your own pace, you can opt for the skip-the-line entry ticket only, adding an audioguide if you like: you’ll still have access to the beautiful Sistine Chapel.
My experience at the Vatican Museums
I had the privilege of visiting the Vatican Museums with an exceptional guide, who explained beautiful works of art to me from another point of view: Brother Anthony, a tireless art lover, guided me and my friends in discovering the religious meaning of some incredible masterpieces, helping us understand them more deeply.
It was fascinating to read works I already knew from another angle, and to look at them through a symbolic and religious lens as well as a historical one!
Opening hours of the Vatican Museums
The Vatican Museums are open from Monday to Saturday from 9.00 am to 6.00 pm (last entry at 4.00 pm).
To avoid the queue I suggest you book your ticket online or go in the afternoon, when there are far fewer people.
It is possible to enter the Vatican Museums for free on the last Sunday of the month. I advise you to go very early in the morning, because there is usually already a long queue at opening time!
One last tip!
If after the Vatican Museums you still crave great art in Rome, carry on with the 10 works of the Galleria Borghese or with the 5 anecdotes about the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo. Enjoy your visit!
