From art to History, there are plenty of reasons to visit The Vatican City.
With its 0,44 square kilometer, it is the smallest independent state in the World, but its tiny size does not affect its greatness.
The Holy See, seat of the Papacy, is the heart of Catholicism and a powerful symbol that attracts visitors and pilgrims from all over the world.
Here, you can visit the Vatican Museums – one of the largest art collections in the world, settled in a 7 kilometers exhibition path and over 1400 rooms – St. Peter’s Basilica and the great square with Bernini’s colonnade.
Vatican City is home to the Swiss Guards, the oldest standing army who have protected the Pope since 1506 and still wears traditional dressed with a marked Renaissance appearance.
The Vatican Museums are one of the world’s most visited museum complexes, and undoubtedly on Rome’s “must see” list.
Overflowing with masterpieces by many of the world’s most important Renaissance and Baroque artists, as well as works from ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt.
Here, Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel sits alongside works by Botticelli, Perugino and Bernini.
Located inside the Vatican Museums, it is known for the frescos that decorate the interior, and most particularly the Sistine Chapel ceiling and The Last Judgment paint by Michelangelo between 1536 and 1541.
Originally known as “Cappella Magna”, it takes its name from the Pope who restored it between 1477 and 1480, Sixtus IV.
Today it is the site of the Papal conclave, the process by which a new pope is selected.
Designed by Donato Bramante, Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno and Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the Masters of Italian Reneissance, St. Peter is the biggest catholic church in the World.
According to the catholic tradition, it has been built on the burial site of Saint Peter, one of Jesus’ apostole and founder of Catholic church.
The modern double helix staircase, commonly referred to as the “Bramante Staircase”, was designed by Giuseppe Momo in 1932 and was inspired by the original Bramante Staircase.
This staircase, like the original, is a double helix, having two staircases allowing people to ascend without meeting people descending and it is located at the end of the museum, so all visitors leave by this route.