Vatican Museums facts for kids
| Musei Vaticani | |
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The Vatican Museums as seen from the dome of St. Peter's Basilica
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| Established | 1506 |
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| Location |  Vatican City |
| Type | Art museum |
| Collection size | 70,000 |
| Visitors | 5,080,856 (2022) |
| Public transit access |  Ottaviano – San Pietro – Musei Vaticani |
The Vatican Museums (in Italian: Musei Vaticani) are a group of public museums located in Vatican City, a small country inside Rome, Italy. These museums show off a huge collection of art and historical items. The Catholic Church and the popes have gathered these treasures over many centuries. You can see some of the most famous Roman sculptures and important Renaissance art masterpieces in the world here.
The museums hold about 70,000 artworks. Around 20,000 of these are on display for visitors to enjoy. About 640 people work at the museums, helping to manage, study, and restore the collections.
Pope Julius II started these museums in the early 1500s. Two of the most famous parts of the Vatican Museums are the Sistine Chapel and the Raphael Rooms. The Sistine Chapel has amazing paintings by Michelangelo, including its famous ceiling and the Last Judgment wall. The Raphael Rooms were decorated by the artist Raphael.
In 2023, over 6.8 million people visited the Vatican Museums. This made them the second most-visited art museum in the world, right after the Louvre in Paris. There are 24 galleries or rooms in total. The Sistine Chapel is usually the last room visitors see on their tour.
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History of the Vatican Museums
The Vatican Museums began with a single marble statue. This statue, called Laocoön and His Sons, was found on January 14, 1506. It was discovered in a vineyard near a church in Rome. Pope Julius II sent two famous artists, Giuliano da Sangallo and Michelangelo, to see the discovery. They were already working at the Vatican.
After their advice, the Pope bought the statue right away. This sculpture shows a Trojan priest named Laocoön and his two sons being attacked by giant snakes. The Pope put the statue on public display at the Vatican just one month after it was found.
Later, in 1837, Pope Gregory XVI started the Museo Gregoriano Etrusco. Then, Pope Pius IX created the Lateran Museum in 1854.
In October 2006, the museums celebrated their 500th birthday. To mark this, they opened up ancient burial sites on Vatican Hill for people to visit. Since January 1, 2017, Barbara Jatta has been the Director of the Vatican Museums.
Pinacoteca Vaticana: The Art Gallery
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The Pinacoteca Vaticana is the Vatican's art gallery. It used to be in the Borgia Apartments, but Pope Pius XI decided it needed its own building. The new building was designed by Luca Beltrami and opened on October 27, 1932.
This museum displays many important paintings, including works by famous artists like:
- Giotto: Stefaneschi Triptych
- Filippo Lippi: Marsuppini Coronation
- Leonardo da Vinci: Saint Jerome in the Wilderness
- Raphael: Madonna of Foligno and Transfiguration
- Titian: Frari Madonna
- Caravaggio: The Entombment of Christ
- Nicolas Poussin: The Martyrdom of Saint Erasmus
Modern Religious Art Collection
The Collection of Modern Religious Art was added in 1973. It features paintings and sculptures by well-known artists from more recent times. Some of these artists include Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Marc Chagall, Paul Klee, Salvador Dalí, and Pablo Picasso.
Sculpture Museums
The Vatican Museums include several museums dedicated to sculptures. These museums are located around the Cortile del Belvedere (Belvedere Courtyard). They include the Museo Gregoriano Profano, which displays classical sculptures, and others described below.
Museo Pio-Clementino: Ancient Sculptures
This museum is named after two popes: Clement XIV and Pope Pius VI. Pope Clement XIV started the museum in 1771. It first held ancient and Renaissance artworks. Pope Pius VI then made the museum and its collection much larger. Today, it is home to many Greek and Roman sculptures.
Some important rooms in this museum are:
- Octagonal Court: This is where some of the first ancient statues in the papal collections were shown. Famous pieces like the Apollo of the Belvedere and Laocoön and His Sons have been here since the early 1500s.
- Sala Rotonda (Round Hall): This room looks like a smaller version of the Pantheon. It has ancient mosaics on the floor and old statues around the edges. These include a golden bronze statue of Hercules and the Braschi Antinous.
- Greek Cross Gallery: Here you can see the large stone coffins (sarcophagi) of Constance and Saint Helena. They were the daughter and mother of Constantine the Great.
- Gallery of the Statues: As the name suggests, this gallery holds many important statues. These include Sleeping Ariadne and the bust of Menander. It also has the Barberini Candelabra.
- Sala degli Animali (Hall of Animals): This room is named for its many ancient statues of animals.
Museo Chiaramonti: More Ancient Art
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Pope Pius VII founded this museum in the early 1800s. His family name before he became Pope was Chiaramonti, which is how the museum got its name. The museum has a long, arched gallery filled with statues, stone coffins, and carved decorations.
The New Wing, or Braccio Nuovo, was built by Raffaele Stern. It houses famous statues like the Augustus of Prima Porta and the Doryphoros. This wing has a beautiful arched roof with skylights. The Galleria Lapidaria is also part of this museum. It contains over 3,000 stone tablets and carvings with writing on them. You usually need special permission to visit this part, often for school studies.
Museo Gregoriano Etrusco: Etruscan Treasures
Pope Gregory XVI founded this museum in 1837. It has nine rooms filled with items from the Etruscan civilization. These pieces come from old digs in areas that were once part of the Papal State. The collection includes vases, sarcophagi, bronze items, and pottery.
Museo Gregoriano Egiziano: Ancient Egypt
This museum has a large collection of items from Ancient Egypt. It also has many Egyptian-style artworks made by Romans. These are displayed in nine rooms. The collection includes ancient papyrus scrolls, sarcophagi (stone coffins), mummies, sculptures, and copies of the Book of the Dead.
Vatican Historical Museum
The Vatican Historical Museum (in Italian: Museo storico vaticano) was started in 1973 by Pope Paul VI. It first opened in a space under the Square Garden. In 1987, it moved to the main floor of the Lateran Palace, where it officially opened in March 1991.
Museum Highlights
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Augustus of Prima Porta
Museo Chiaramonti -
Leonardo da Vinci
Saint Jerome in the Wilderness
Pinacoteca Vaticana -
Raphael
The School of Athens
Raphael Rooms -
Raphael
The Transfiguration
Pinacoteca Vaticana -
Michelangelo
The Last Judgment
Sistine Chapel -
Caravaggio
The Entombment of Christ
Pinacoteca Vaticana -
Depiction of Wandjina
Anima Mundi -
Vincent van Gogh – Pietà
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Some of the most important and interesting things to see in the Vatican Museums include:
- The red marble papal throne, which used to be in the Basilica of Saint John Lateran.
- Ancient Roman sculptures, tombstones, and carvings. These include the early Christian Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus.
- The Raphael Rooms, which have many artworks by Raphael and his students. His famous painting The School of Athens (1509–1511) is here.
- The Niccoline Chapel.
- The Sistine Chapel, with its amazing Sistine Chapel ceiling and Last Judgment by Michelangelo.
- The Vatican Gallery of Maps: This gallery has large maps of all of Italy painted on its walls. A friar named Ignazio Danti created them for Pope Gregory XIII (1572–1585). It is still the world's largest painted geographical study.
- The paintings and other artworks in the Borgia Apartments. These apartments were built for the Borgia pope, Pope Alexander VI.
- The Bramante Staircase is a unique double spiral staircase. It was designed by Giuseppe Momo in 1932. It has two separate ramps that twist around each other, making it easy to go up and down without bumping into people.
Visiting the Museums
The Vatican Museums are very popular. On the last Sunday of each month, the museums are open to the public for free. Because of this, many people often wait in line for several hours to get inside. On other days, you can buy tickets online or at the museum entrance.
Recent Events at the Museums
Sometimes, incidents happen at the museums. For example, in August 2022, two climate activists glued themselves to the base of the Laocoön statue. They were protesting about fossil fuels. This action caused some damage to the sculpture.
In October 2022, an American tourist damaged two Roman busts in the Chiaramonti Museum. Reports said he was upset because he could not meet Pope Francis. One bust lost part of its nose and an ear, and the other fell off its stand. Experts worked for many hours to repair the sculptures.
More to Explore
- Index of Vatican City–related articles
- List of largest art museums
- List of most visited art museums
- List of museums in Rome
