Exploring Vatican City
Note: This post has been updated on May 10, 2022.
Vatican City is one of those places you have to visit once in your life as it’s unlike any other city you will see in the world - mainly due to the nature of why this city exists.
The below is the history of the ruling of this papal city, as well as some of what you get to see. I’ve also included some tour guide recommendations for both private and public tours.
a history summary
1st century - The name "Vatican" was already in use in the time of the Roman Republic for the Ager Vaticanus, a marshy area on the west bank of the Tiber across from the city of Rome. Villas and gardens were laid out in this area, during this time.
40 AD - Emperor Caligula built a circus for charioteers that was later completed by Nero (Circus of Nero). The Vatican obelisk is the last visible remnant of this circus.
69 AD - The particularly low quality of Vatican wine, even after the reclamation of the area, was commented on by the poet Martial. Also a large portion of the northern Army died, due to disease and heat stroke.
326 AD - Constantinian Basilica of St. Peter was built, over the site of where St. Peter was buried.
366 - 1309- Lateran Palace was constructed nearby (what is today’s Vatican City) during the pontificate of Pope Symmachus. It would be the residence of the pope for nearly 1,000 years.
1279 - Pope Nicholas III moved his residence back to the Vatican, from the Lateran Palace, and enclosed this area with walls. He planted an orchard, a lawn, and a garden.
1309 to 1377 - Popes lived in Avignon, France. After that, they chose to live and work in the Vatican.
1473 and 1481 - The Sistine Chapel was built.
1482 - The Sistine Chapel’s walls were painted.
1483- The first mass was held in the Sistine Chapel.
1506 - Soldiers of the Swiss Guard are entitled to hold Vatican City State passports and nationality. Swiss mercenaries were historically recruited by Popes as part of an army for the Papal States, and the Pontifical Swiss Guard was founded by Pope Julius II as the Pope's personal bodyguard and continues to fulfill that function. Recruitment is arranged by a special agreement between the Holy See and Switzerland. All recruits must be Catholic, unmarried males, with Swiss citizenship, who have completed their basic training with the Swiss Armed Forces, with certificates of good conduct, be between the ages of 19 and 30.
1508 and 1512 - The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel was painted by Michelangelo and his students.
1583 - 1870 - Quirinal Palace was built and used by Popes until Rome was captured and annexed into Italy, and the King of Italy commandeered it for his own use.
1861 and 1929 - The status of the Pope was referred to as the "Roman Question" until the Lateran Treaty between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy was signed by Prime Minister and Head of Government, Benito Mussolini, on behalf of King Victor Emmanuel III and by Cardinal Secretary of State, Pietro Gasparri, for Pope Pius XI. It also established the independent state of Vatican City and reaffirmed the special status of Catholic Christianity in Italy.
1941 - Civil defense is the responsibility of the Corps of Firefighters of the Vatican City State, the national fire brigade.
1943 - 1944 - Although Nazi German troops occupied the city of Rome after the September 1943 Armistice of Cassibile, and the Allies from 1944, they respected Vatican City as neutral territory.
1946 - Pius XII created 32 cardinals.
1970 - The Pontifical Military Corps, except for the Swiss Guard, was disbanded by the will of Paul VI, The Gendarmerie Corps was transformed into a civilian police and security force.
1984 - A new concordat between the Holy See and Italy modified certain provisions of the earlier treaty, including the position of Catholic Christianity as the Italian state religion, a position given to it by a statute of the Kingdom of Sardinia of 1848. It was also added by UNESCO to the List of World Heritage Sites, and is the only one to consist of an entire state.
things to see
Pinecone Courtyard
The Pinecone Courtyard, or the Cortile della Pigna, is the first main courtyard you pass through on your way to the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican Museums. Before it was open to the public, it was used by Popes to hold parties and gatherings. The Spanish Pope, Pope Alexander VI, even held bullfights, while Pope Leo X used it as the living quarters for his pet elephant named Hanno.
Bust of Caesar Augustus
The very large bust of Rome’s first Emperor, Caesar Augustus, is on display in the Pinecone Courtyard. This bust dates from the time of Augustus, who was Emperor during the time of Christ. This piece can be seen at the far wall as you enter in the middle of the courtyard.
Sphere Within a Sphere
What is most noticeable when you enter into the Pinecone courtyard is the Sphere within a Sphere. This sculpture is placed right in the center of the courtyard and was created by Arnaldo Pomodoro who was born in Moricano, Romagna in 1926. The art is over 40 feet in diameter and depicts a smaller sphere inside a larger sphere, symbolizing how the religious world relates to the world as we know it today. Numerous versions of this sphere are placed around the world, including Trinity College in Dublin and at the United Nations offices in New York.
The Pinecone
The courtyard is named after the huge bronze statue shaped like a pinecone. The metal sculpture was originally part of a fountain dating back to the 2nd century A.D. and was crafted during the Ancient Roman times. The base for the pinecone was taken from the baths of Septimus Severius also dating from the 2nd century A.D. The two peacocks on either side were taken from the Emperor Hadrian’s villa in Tivoli.
Raphael Rooms
Raphael’s Rooms comprise of four separate rooms in the Palace of the Vatican and they formed a part of the apartment of Pope Julius II. The walls of each room are beautiful with their immense frescoes that depict a variety of religious and mythological stories. Named after the art master, Raphael, these rooms were designed by Raphael himself. While a large number of the artworks were painted by Raphael, many of them needed to be completed by the students of the School of Raphael, due to the artist’s unexpected death, in 1520, before the completion of the rooms.
Sistine Chapel
The Sistine Chapel is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace. Originally known as the Cappella Magna ('Great Chapel'), it takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, who had it built between 1473 and 1481. Since that time, it has served as a place of both religious and functionary papal activity. Today, it is the site of the papal conclave, the process by which a new pope is selected. The chapel's fame lies mainly in the frescoes that decorate its interior, most particularly the Sistine Chapel ceiling and The Last Judgment, both by Michelangelo.
During the reign of Sixtus IV, a team of Renaissance painters, including Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Pinturicchio, Domenico Ghirlandaio and Cosimo Rosselli, created a series of frescos depicting the Life of Moses and the Life of Christ, offset by papal portraits above and trompe-l'œil drapery below. They were completed in 1482, and on August 15, 1483 Sixtus IV celebrated the first mass in the Sistine Chapel for the Feast of the Assumption, during which the chapel was consecrated and dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
Between 1508 and 1512, under the patronage of Pope Julius II, Michelangelo painted the chapel's ceiling, a project that changed the course of Western art and is regarded as one of the major artistic accomplishments of human civilization. In a different political climate, after the Sack of Rome, he returned and, between 1535 and 1541, painted The Last Judgment for Popes Clement VII and Paul III. The fame of Michelangelo's paintings has drawn multitudes of visitors to the chapel since they were revealed five centuries ago. According to recent studies, the Sistine Chapel is influenced by the writings of monk and philosopher Joachim of Fiore, who thus influenced the vision and the iconographic project for the representation of the Last Judgment. Michelangelo's frescoes with an eschatological theme are therefore an artistic development of Joachim's writings of the 12th century about the apocalypse and the last days.
St. Peter’s Basilica
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (Saint Peter's Basilica) is a church of the Italian High Renaissance. It was initially planned in the 15th century by Pope Nicholas V and then Pope Julius II to replace the aging Old St. Peter's Basilica, which was built in the 4th century by Roman emperor Constantine the Great. Construction of the present basilica began on April 18, 1506 and was completed on November 18, 1626.
Designed principally by Donato Bramante, Michelangelo, and Carlo Maderno, with piazza and fittings by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, St. Peter's is one of the most renowned works of Italian Renaissance architecture and is the largest church in the world by interior measure. While it is neither the mother church of the Catholic Church nor the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome, St. Peter's is regarded as one of the holiest Catholic shrines.
Catholic tradition holds that the basilica is the burial site of Saint Peter, chief among Jesus's apostles and also the first Bishop of Rome (Pope). Saint Peter's tomb is directly below the high altar of the basilica, also known as the Altar of the Confession. For this reason, many popes, cardinals and bishops have been interred at St. Peter's since the Early Christian period.
St. Peter's is also a place of pilgrimage and is known for its liturgical functions. The pope presides at a number of liturgies throughout the year, both within the basilica, or the adjoining St. Peter's Square. These liturgies draw anywhere from 15,000 to 80,000+ people.
Climb the Dome
You are able to reach the top of the Dome in St. Peter’s Basilica. They do have a lift that takes you part of the way, but prepared to climb the rest of it. It is for a fee.
TIP: Wednesdays are not good days to climb as that affects the Pope’s liturgies. Also, arrive early!
The Vatican Necropolis lies under Vatican City, at depths varying between 16-39 ft. below Saint Peter's Basilica. The Vatican-sponsored archaeological excavations, under the basilica, took place from 1940–1949, which revealed parts of a necropolis dating to Imperial times. The work was undertaken at the request of Pope Pius XI who wished to be buried as close as possible to Peter the Apostle. It is also home to the Tomb of the Julii, which has been dated to the third or fourth century. The necropolis was not originally one of the Catacombs of Rome, but an open-air cemetery with tombs and mausolea.
In 1300, Pope Boniface VIII began the tradition of the Holy Year, known as a “Jubilee”, and the Catholic Church has celebrated it every 25 years, to this day.
A major part of the Holy Year for Catholics is a pilgrimage to Rome and the ritual passing over the threshold of the holy door to symbolize the passing into the presence of God. At the same time, remission of the temporal punishment for the pilgrims' sins is granted, known as an “indulgence”.
The next opening will be 2025.
The origins of the Vatican Grottoes date back 1590–1591, when they were constructed to support the floor of the Renaissance-era St. Peter's Basilica. The initial concept was proposed by architect Antonio da Sangallo the Younger to Pope Leo X following Raphael's death in 1520.
In 1592, Pope Clement VIII undertook significant renovations of the medieval crypt, naming it the “Clementine” and installing a 17th century altar near the tomb of Saint Peter. Between 1616 and 1617, Pope Paul V added straight corridors leading to the Confessio of Saint Peter, along with several chapels, such as the Chapel of the Salvatorello and the Chapel of the Madonna of Bocciata, adorned with hagiographic paintings by Giovanni Battista Ricci.
The Grottoes contain the tombs of 91 popes. Notably, Pope John Paul II, who was initially buried there in 2005 before his remains were moved to the Altar of St Sebastian (see above). Additionally, it houses the graves of some royals, such as Queen Christina of Sweden and Queen Charlotte of Cyprus. Within the Clémentine Chapel, behind the altar, lies St. Peter's Tomb, marked by a grill covering some white marble.
The Borgia Apartments
The Borgia Apartments are a suite of rooms in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican, adapted for personal use by Pope Alexander VI. In the late 15th century, he commissioned the Italian painter, Bernardino di Betto, and his studio to decorate them with frescoes.
The paintings and frescoes, which were executed between 1492 and 1494, drew on a complex iconographic program that used themes from medieval encyclopedias, adding an eschatological layer of meaning and celebrating the supposedly divine origins of the Borgias. Five of the six apartments include frescoes painted in the vault. The upper register of the vaults contain paintings, while the lower registers are decorated with tapestries and gold. Recent cleaning of The Resurrection has revealed a scene believed to be the earliest known European depiction of Native Americans, painted just two years after Christopher Columbus returned from the New World.
The Borgia Apartments includes six rooms: Room of the Sibyls, Room of the Creed, Room of the Liberal Arts, Room of the Saints, Room of Mysteries, and Room of Pontiffs. The Room of Sibyls and the Room of Creed include frescoes of the Old Testament prophets and sibyls. These room also pay homage to the planets. In the Room of Liberal Arts, it’s represented as female figures through his frescoes in the vault. The Room of Saints consists of frescoes detailing the lives of seven notable saints, including Barbara, Catherine, Anthony, Paul, Susanna, and Elizabeth. His last room, the Room of Mysteries, contains frescoes with New Testament subject matter, including the Nativity, Ascension, Adoration of the Magi, and other scenes.
The Room of the Pontiffs was erected before all the other buildings, between 1277 and 1280. Built between 1447 and 1455, the Room of the Liberal Arts, Saints, and Mysteries were referred to as "secret rooms" by Pope Alexander VI's master of ceremonies, Johannes Burchard.
They are now open to the public as of 2019.
The Gallery of Maps
The Gallery of Maps is a gallery located on the west side of the Belvedere Courtyard, in the Vatican, containing a series of painted topographical maps of Italy, based on drawings by friar and geographer Ignazio Danti.
The gallery was commissioned in 1580 by Pope Gregory XIII as part of other artistic works, commissioned by the Pope, to decorate the Vatican. It took Danti three years (1580–1583) to complete the 40 panels of the 120 m long gallery.
The Gallery of Tapestries
The Gallery of Tapestries is 245 feet long and houses tapestries on both sides.
On the left wall, there are tapestries commissioned by Pope Clement VII. These designs were called “cartoons”, which were then sent up north to Belgium to master tapestry makers.
On the right wall are tapestries commissioned by Pope Urban VIII (Pope from 1623-1644).
The Gallery of the Candelabra
The Vatican Gallery of the Candelabra houses an impressive collection of notable statues, relics, and works of art. As the name suggests, the Gallery of the Candelabra is named for the enormous marble candlesticks that you can find in each section as you walk down the hallway.
The gallery was completely renovated during the pontificate of Pope Leo XIII Pecci (1878 – 1903), which is how it still looks today.
The Pio-Clementino Museum
The Pio-Clementino Museum is the largest complex of the Vatican Museums and owes its name to its founders: Pope Clement XIV who in 1771, acquired the Mattei and Fusconi collections and Pope Pius VI who enlarged it giving it a monumental entrance with the Atrium of the Four Gates and the Scala Simonetti.
It houses 12 rooms that hold the most important Greek and Roman masterpieces. The museum also includes the Cortile Ottagono, once called the Courtyard of the statues, where the first true collection of classical sculptures belonged to the Vatican was housed. Among the main sculptures are the statue of Laocoön and the Apollo of the Belvedere.
The main rooms are the one of the statues with the walls frescoed by Pinturicchio, the hall of busts that houses the busts of the Roman emperors, the Round Room with the imposing gilded bronze statue of Hercules, the Greek cross room decorated with a central mosaic and two huge sarcophagi and the animal room.
Laocoön and His Sons
Laocoön and his sons is a marble sculpture that depicts a Trojan priest and his sons being strangled by serpents sent by a Greek goddess. It was unearthed in the 16th century and was thought to be from the Classical period, but later evidence suggested it was from the Hellenistic period.
Nero’s Bathtub
Nero’s bathtub, (porphyry basin) is now housed in the round hall, in the Pio Clementino Museum. It was commissioned by the first-century Roman emperor, Nero, for his famously decadent architectural vanity project the Domus Aurea (Golden House). Built entirely of purple imperial porphyry (a kind of marble), the basin weighs more than 1,000 pounds and is worth an estimated $2 billion.
All imperial porphyry, mined in the ancient world, came from a single, remote quarry in the eastern part of Roman Egypt called the Mons Porphyrites. It was discovered in 18 B.C. when a Roman soldier, named Caius Cominius Leugas, noticed a hard purple-red rock in the desert.
Most imperial purple marble was used as an accent stone in tiled floors or on columns. You can find it fashioned into vases or busts, but the basin from Nero’s Golden House is exceptionally large and heavy. It’s almost certainly the largest single intact piece of porphyry marble that exists today. The mine established at Mons Pophryites was used continuously until A.D. 600, when the Romans lost control of Egypt.
The Apollo Belvedere is a celebrated marble sculpture from classical antiquity. The work has been dated to mid-way through the 2nd century A.D. and is considered to be a Roman copy of an original bronze statue created between 330 and 320 B.C. by the Greek sculptor Leochares.
Vatican Gardens
Pious tradition claim that the foundation site of the Vatican Gardens was spread with sacred soil, brought from Mount Calvary, by Empress Saint Helena, to symbolically unite the blood of Jesus Christ with that shed by thousands of early Christians who died in the persecutions of Emperor Nero Caesar Augustus.
The gardens date back to medieval times when orchards and vineyards extended to the north of the Papal Apostolic Palace. In 1279, Pope Nicholas III moved his residence back to the Vatican from the Lateran Palace and enclosed this area with walls. He planted an orchard, a lawn, and a garden. Firstly, they appeared near the hills of Sant'Egidio where today, the Palazzetto del Belvedere and the Courtyards of the Vatican Museums are located.
The site received a major re-landscaping at the beginning of the 16th century, during the pontificate of Pope Julius II. Donato Bramante's original design was then split into three new courtyards: the Cortili del Belvedere, the "della Biblioteca" and the "della Pigna", in the Renaissance landscape design style. Also in this style, a great rectangular Labyrinth, formal in design, set in boxwood and framed with Italian stone pines and cedars of Lebanon. In place of Nicholas III's enclosure, Bramante built a great rectilinear defensive wall.[7]
Since the end of 2014, the Vatican Museums and the Directorate of Technical Services of the Governorate of Vatican City State have been running the project of restoration and conservation of various stone artifacts in the gardens. The goal of the project has been to prevent the deterioration of the objects of art-historical interest.
Today's Vatican Gardens are spread over nearly 57 acres, which contain a variety of medieval fortifications, buildings and monuments from the 9th century to the present day, set among vibrant flower beds and topiary, green lawns and 7 acres patch of forest. There are a variety of fountains cooling the gardens, sculptures, an artificial grotto, devoted to Our Lady of Lourdes, and an Olive tree donated by the government of Israel.
Vatican Obelisk
(seen on the right side of the picture)
The Vatican obelisk in St. Peter's Square is the last visible remnant from the Circus of Nero. It was brought from Heliopolis in Egypt by Emperor Caligula. The obelisk originally stood at the center of the spina (median) of the Roman circus. The circus became the site of martyrdom for many Christians after the Great Fire of Rome in AD 64. Tradition states that it was in this circus that Saint Peter was crucified upside-down. In 1586, the obelisk was relocated to its current position by Pope Sixtus V using a method devised by Italian architect Domenico Fontana.
A list of tours
Anyone who has been to the Vatican can tell you NOT to buy tickets on your own and assume you can take in the most popular rooms on your own. Wait times can be up to three hours on weekends and up to two hours on weekdays. There are no places to bypass ticket lines and entry lines in this case.
Below are some of the recommended tours. Note that the price tag will always be worth it:
Private Early Bird Vatican Museums Tour (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)
Private Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and Basilica with Pick-up (RECOMMENDED)
Private Vatican, Sistine Chapel, Basilica & Papal Tombs Tour
Skip-the-Line Vatican, Sistine Chapel & St. Peter's | Small Group
Through Eternity Tours - While very pricey, John Tinto and his wife are absolutely incredible guides!
Tips/Suggestions
Women's knees and shoulders must be covered in the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica. No exceptions are made and they will turn you away. I wore a maxi dress and brought a scarf.
Visiting Rome in June - September is HOT. Make sure to carry sunscreen and lots of water! October - November are the most preferable months to go.