Visiting Vatican City

Vatican City is more than just the center of the Roman Catholic Church and the residence of the Pope, it is a city-state within the city of Rome holding centuries of history. Vatican City was built and furnished over 600 years ago and is home to over 2,000 rooms of amazing artifacts, masterpieces, and much more.

As you walk into the Vatican Museums you will at first be a bit dazed and wonder where to start. The Vatican Museums are divided into sections, a few of the sections are the Ancient Papal Apartments painted by Raphael, Gregorian Etruscan Museum, the Sistine Chapel, the Missionary-Ethnological Museum, the Pinacoteca, and the Gregorian Etruscan Museum. If that is not enough to confuse you many of the paintings, artifacts, and sculptures you will see are not labeled. You may be able to see all the wonderful items that have been preserved throughout history, but you will not be able to learn the history as well as the creator of these awesome items.

With a private tour guide that is licensed by The Vatican, you will be able to learn so much more than just glance at the magnificent items and wonder.

With the museums are treasures that will take you back through history such as the Gregorian Etruscan Museum is home to archeological finds from the 9th century through the 1st century BC and a few donations from Mario Astarita and Benedello Guglielmi. Other items home in this museum include historical artifacts of the same period.

The Pinacoteca is home to many of the world’s famous artists including Melozzo da Forlì, Leonardo, Perugino, Tiziano, Giotto, Crespi, Raphael, Veronese, Beato Angelico, and Caravaggio.

In the Missionary-Ethnological Museum, you will be able to view over 80,000 masterpieces including such works of art as the American-Indian population created by Ferdinand Pettrich the German sculptor, the Borgiano Museum of Propaganda Fide, and the collection of ceremonial objects that belonged to Father Kirschbaum.

Raphael painted the Ancient Papal Apartments during the time that Pope Julius II called the Vatican home. At this time, this area was called the Stanze with the painting beginning in 1512 and completed in 1514.

The Sistine Chapel is a must see for your private tour of the Vatican. With a private and official Vatican tour guide, you can receive a special VIP entrance into the Sistine Chapel so you will be able to stand in awe at the grandeur and beauty of the paintings on wall panels depicting the life of Christ, the life of Moses, the stories from Genesis, and the Last Judgment. The Last Judgment and the ceiling are the creations of Michelangelo. Other artists that helped create the splendid decorations include Sandro Botticelli, Bernini, and Raphael.