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Photo: user:Lalupa, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

About the museum

The story of the Vatican Museums

The Vatican Museums trace their beginnings to 1506, when Pope Julius II put the newly unearthed Laocoön sculpture on display. Over five centuries the popes filled the palaces of Vatican City with one of the greatest art collections in the world.

The route ends in the Sistine Chapel, with Michelangelo's ceiling and Last Judgement, and passes the Raphael Rooms and the Pinacoteca, whose paintings include Raphael's Transfiguration, Leonardo's Saint Jerome and Caravaggio's Entombment.

The collection

The Vatican Museums are a chain of around two dozen collections, from Egyptian and Etruscan antiquities and the classical sculptures of the Pio-Clementino Museum to the Gallery of Maps and the modern religious art collection.

The Pinacoteca, opened in its own building in 1932, holds paintings from the twelfth to the nineteenth century: Giotto's Stefaneschi Triptych, Melozzo da Forlì's music-making angels, Raphael's Transfiguration and Foligno Madonna, Leonardo's unfinished Saint Jerome and Caravaggio's Entombment.

At ArtLogia you can order 94 of its paintings as hand-painted reproductions, by 41 artists led by Michelangelo, Raphael and Donato Creti.

paintings to order
94
artists
41
art movements
9
years covered
1350–1889

The building

The museums occupy the papal palaces built from the fifteenth century onward, linked by long galleries to the Belvedere villa of Innocent VIII. Visitors leave by the spiral Bramante staircase designed by Giuseppe Momo in 1932, one of the most photographed staircases in the world.

Masterpieces to see

Planning a visit

Book ahead and go early in the morning; the visit is one long route, and the Sistine Chapel comes near the end.

Hand-painted in oil

Famous paintings from the Vatican Museums

Each reproduction is painted by hand by a professional artist, following the original's composition, colour and brushwork. Choose your size, and have it rolled, stretched or framed.

13 paintings

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Artists in the collection

Vatican Museums: frequently asked questions

Is the Sistine Chapel part of the Vatican Museums?

Yes. The Sistine Chapel is visited at the end of the Vatican Museums route; there is no separate entrance for tourists.

Can you take photos in the Sistine Chapel?

No. Photography is not allowed in the Sistine Chapel, though it is permitted in most other parts of the Vatican Museums.

How long is the Vatican Museums route?

The full route is about seven kilometres of galleries; most visitors spend three to four hours on a selection ending in the Sistine Chapel.

Where is the Vatican Museums?

The Vatican Museums is in Vatican City. You can find opening hours and tickets on the museum's official website.

What are the most famous paintings at the Vatican Museums?

Its best-known paintings include The Creation of Adam, The Last Judgment, The School of Athens. ArtLogia offers 94 hand-painted reproductions of works from its collection.

When was the Vatican Museums founded?

The Vatican Museums dates from 1506. See the history above for how its collection grew.

Is the Vatican Museums one of the best museums in the world?

Yes. It ranks number 33 in our list of the 100 best art museums in the world, ranked by the famous paintings in their collections.

Can I buy a reproduction of a painting from the Vatican Museums?

Yes. Paintings such as Saint Jerome in the Wilderness and Transfiguration can be ordered as hand-painted oil reproductions on canvas, in any size, rolled, stretched or framed, with free worldwide shipping.

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