Vatican City Private Art and History Tour

Your tour will start with a visit to the Cortile del Belvedere, the Museo Pio-Clementino and the vast collection of ancient Roman and Greek statues.
The guide will draw your attention to the rooms painted by Raphael for Pope Julius II, considered the greatest works of his life, in particular the Parnassus and the School of Athens.

You will be fascinated by the famous frescoes that decorate the splendid Sistine Chapel made by the best Italian painters, such as Michelangelo, Botticelli and other famous artists.

Continue your visit to the Basilica of San Pietro, where the Pietà of Michelangelo, the Baldacchino by Bernini and numerous monuments dedicated to Popes and Saints are kept. Your tour will end in Saint Peter's Square to see the Swiss guards and the Pope's Palace.

Meeting Point

Caffè Vaticano

Viale Vaticano, 100, 00192 Roma RM, Italy

Your guide will meet you at the stairs outside Vatican Museums, at the white monumental door topped with the statues of Michelangelo and Raphael.
The guide will be holding a sign with your name on it.

What's included:

• Private tour
• Professional guide
• Entrance fees
• Walking tour
• Guaranteed to skip the long lines

Not included:

• Food and Drinks
• Gratuities
• Hotel drop-off
• Transportation to and from sites

What to expect:

Duration: 3 hours

Sistine Chapel

Viale Vaticano, Vatican City, 00165

The Sistine Chapel is one of the greatest works of Italian art. Currently it is still consecrated as a papal chapel and is included in the visit of the Vatican Museums.
The Chapel takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV della Rovere and was built as a private chapel, inside which the most important ceremonies were held during the Holy Year and gathered in the Conclave, when it was to elect a new pontiff.

When Pope Sixtus IV decided to create the Chapel he called the greatest Tuscan and Umbrian artists of the period (Botticelli, Signorelli, Cosimo Rosselli, Ghirlandaio, Perugino and Pinturicchio), who decorated the side parts with frescoes representing two important cycles of stories taken from the Old and New Testaments.

The vault, originally, was painted with a simple blue sky studded with golden stars, and kept this aspect until Pope Julius II della Rovere commissioned to Michelangelo the redecoration of the vast surface, which created what is today called the absolute masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance.

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Vatican Museums

Viale Vaticano, Vatican City, 00120

The Vatican Museums were founded by Pope Julius II in the sixteenth century and occupy a large part of the vast courtyard of the Belvedere. It is one of the largest collections of art in the world, as they preserve the enormous collection of works of art accumulated over the centuries by the Popes: the Sistine Chapel and the papal apartments frescoed by Michelangelo and Raphael are just some of the works that visitors can admire in their path.

1 hour, 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

St. Peter's Basilica

Piazza San Pietro, Vatican City, 00120

The Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican stands in the place where, according to tradition, the apostle Peter was buried in 64 AD.
In 1506 Pope Julius II called Bramante for the realization of the project for the new and current basilica, which provided for the complete demolition of the previous basilica. Artists such as Antonio da Sangallo, Carlo Maderno and Gian Lorenzo Bernini collaborated in the construction of the church.

Inside the Basilica of San Pietro are unique masterpieces, many of which are the work of the genius of Bernini.

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included