Vatican museums: vatican tour of the popes' art collection

THE VATICAN MUSEUMS: VATICAN TOUR OF THE POPES' ART COLLECTION

Enormous collection of art are gathered and preserved by the Holy See inside the vatican museums. Renowned throughout the world, the vatican Museums are visited by 4 milions visitors each year and are repositores of some of the rarest and most significant art pieces to be found anywhere, like the sistine chapel frescoed by Michelangelo.

The vatican museum is the longtime result of the patronage of the popes in art, their private donations, and the fact that the vatican became the gathering place of the very best of artists and artisans.
Popes had been collecting art for centuries, but the actual organizing of a museum was not undertaken until the pontificate of Pope Benedict XIV ( 1740- 1758), who began the Museum of Christian Antiquities ( or sacred Museums ), with a magnificent collection of ivory, bronze, glass and textiles, mostly found in the catacombs.
The origin of the museums are traced to two acts of papal goodwill. The first was in 1471 when Sixtus IV gathered part of his private collection of sculpture and placed it on display in the Capitol hill for the enjoyment of the Romans. The second was under Sixtus's nephew, Julius II ( 1503 - 1513 ), patron of Michelangelo and Bramante. He created a sculpture exhibit in the courtyard of the Belvedere Palace that included the famed Apollo Belvedere and the Laocoon group.
The vatican museums are under the jurisdiction of the general administration of the Pontifical Monuments, Museums and Galleries of the vatican state. The buildings housing the collection were originally papal palaces built for several renaissance popes such as Julius II and Innocent VIII, making the settings of the art as interesting and historically significant as the collections they house.

How can anyone describe the beauty and history that is contained in these sacred places?

In the vatican museum there are sculptures, paintings and tapestries that are so remarkable and precious, that almost you did not want to breath the air that surronded them for fear of damaging them.

VATICAN MUSEUM WALKING TOUR ITINERARY ( 3 hours )

PRIVATE TOUR

VATICAN MUSEUMS
SISTINE CHAPEL
SAINT PETER BASILICA

This picture is taken from a fresco where you can see Pope Sixtus IV appointing Bartolomeo Platina prefect of the Vatican Library ( fresco by Melozzo da Forlì, c. 1477 -Vatican Museums ).

PEOPLE	COST
FROM 1 TO 2 PEOPLE	170 EURO IN TOTAL
FROM 3 TO 5 PEOPLE	70 EURO PER PERSON
FROM 6 TO 10 PEOPLE	60 EURO PER PERSON

THE PRICE INCLUDES

fluent english speaking private tour guide for 3 hours

THE PRICE DOES NOT INCLUDE

taxi transportation from your hotel
entrance fees for the vatican museums: 15 euro each to pay cash

SPECIFICATIONS

the tour guide use to meet the customers at your hotel if it is centrally located;
tour payments will be in cash euro.
student admission at the vatican museums: if part of your family has students, please take with you your student card and you'll pay 9 euro each to get into the museums of the vatican city.
children admission: from 0 to 11 years old free.

THE PROBLEM OF THE LINE AT THE VATICAN MUSEUMS

the best hours to visit the vatican are early in the morning ( meeting you at the hotel at 7.30 am ) or in the early afternoon ( meeting you at the hotel or directly at the vatican at 12.30 pm ).
to enter the vatican city is requested to wear long pants and shirts with half sleeves.
people with shoulders uncovered is not accepted .
if women decide to wear skirts, the skirt's lenght must cover the knees.

THE VATICAN MUSEUMS ARE CLOSED ON SUNDAYS

THE LINE TO ENTER THE VATICAN IS CALCULATED IN AROUND 30 MINUTES EVERY DAY, NO MATTER AT WHAT TIME YOU DECIDE TO GO : THIS IS BECAUSE OF THE PRESENCE OF METAL DETECTOR DEVICES AND THE MANAGEMENT OF THE VATICAN MUSEUMS DOES NOT ACCEPT RESERVATIONS AS WELL DOES NOT PRESALE TICKETS IN ADVANCE.

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