I should thank the Catholic Church for hoarding some of the best artworks in the western world for two thousand years so that I could lose myself for 7 hours inside the Vatican Museums, sustained only by a cappuccino and the euphoria of being there. But you don’t have to be as crazy as me to appreciate all that the Vatican has to offer. It should also be noted that we already toured the St Peter’s Square and the Basilica exterior (free and available any time of any day) on Day 1 in Rome.
I Did My Homework
I did a lot of research before deciding to forgo a guided tour of the Vatican Museums.
- I didn’t want to be limited to the typical 3 hours for the museum tour.
- I didn’t want to be herded like cattle in a group tour but also didn’t want to spend the $$$ for a private guide.
- I already had some background knowledge of the famous pieces that the tours would hit.
- Most of the tours skip the Pinacoteca (Painting Gallery), which I wanted to see.
The Vatican Museums are not laid out in simple loops like most museums due to the various additions over the centuries. So in order to see all of it without backtracking through the hordes, I studied the map beforehand and drew up a plan of attack. Here are the galleries I visited in order with the approximate actual time I spent in each section:
- Pinacoteca (45min)
- Main Galleries:
- Briefly through Cortille della Pigna, the Hall of Busts, and Braccio Nuovo (60min)
- Octagonal Courtyard (30min)
- Hall of Animals (10min)
- Egyptian Gallery (20min)
- Belvedere Torso & the Round Room (20min)
- Tapestries (15min)
- Map Gallery (20min)
- The Raphael Rooms (45min)
- The Modern Art Gallery (15min)
- The Sistine Chapel (1hr)
- St. Peter’s Basilica
- The Cupola (45min)
- The Basilica Interior (1hr)
Pause, Deep Breath, Here We Go!
Because we prepurchased the tickets, we got to bypass the LONG line of people wrapped around the Vatican wall waiting to enter.
Pinacoteca
The Pinacoteca, or Painting Gallery, is often overshadowed by the Main Galleries, so much so it’s in a separate building not even on the official museum map. But it deserves 30-45 minutes of the trip to see the lesser known Raphael, Da Vinci and Caravaggio pieces, which would be displayed in the most prominent locations in any other museum. The paintings were arranged in chronological order from Medieval to Baroque.
It was also interesting to see the temporary forms of angels used for casting bronze statues. If you’re a Doctor Who fans like me, you would understand why I felt a shiver down my spine as I walked past them.
Throughout the visit, I noticed names and words rubbed off from the information plaques. They were too many and too deliberate to be accidentally rubbed off by the millions of visitors. Can anyone out there tell me why? Because Google couldn’t.
Main Galleries
Cortille della Pigna, Hall of Busts, & Braccio Nuovo
We didn’t spent much time here, but breezed through them on our way to the Octagonal Courtyard. Good thing I got a fill of sculptures already at the Museo Nazionale Romano, or we would have spent so much more time here!
Octagonal Courtyard
Our detailed visit really started at the Octagonal Courtyard, where we found the famous Roman sculptures of Apollo and the Laocoön. Being on the short side was definitely a disadvantage in a crowded museum, but fortunately, we weren’t limited on time and eventually got to the front after that particular wave of people abated.
Hall of Animals
Carried along by the river of people, we flowed into the Hall of Animals. Now here was a zoo that didn’t make me cry (animals in cages make me very sad)! The bronze and stone animals were so lifelike they could leap off the pedestals at any moment.
Egyptian Gallery
We made a quick loop through the Egyptian section of the Vatican Museums. The younger me was fascinated by Egyptology and spent hours in the Egyptian sections of many museums. The Vatican one was on par with but perhaps not better than the other big museums.
Belvedere Torso & the Round Room
This partial torso was the inspiration for all of the “super-human” bodies depicted by Michelangelo in both 2D and 3D. In the next room, colossal statues lined the creatively named Round Room. Look at the size of that bronze Hercules!
Tapestries
Tapestries for me, for the most part, were just dusty, faded wall coverings that made the damp and cold castles habitable. Most of the ones I had seen before had human and animal figures that were just a tad “off”. But the ones in the Tapestry Room (and other random places in the museums) were impressively realistic, almost oil painting like. In fact, many were paintings by famous painters that were replicated by the master tapestry weavers.
Map Gallery
By the time we made it to the Map Gallery, it got REALLY crowded. I took full advantage of being on the smaller side to slide and squeeze through the groups to see the maps. It was interesting to see the old maps of Italy in comparison to the modern ones.
The Raphael Rooms
To get to the Raphael Rooms we had to walk single file across an elevated scaffolding walkway on the outside of the building. Unfortunately half of the first room was under maintenance, but let’s be honest, we were mostly there to see the School of Athens in the second room. It was also here that the crowd really became bananas. Tour guides were giving their rehearsed speeches in so many languages all at once. Not only was it hot and stuffy, you could smell everybody in there. Gross! And seriously, I just wanted ONE photo of the frescoes without a tour guide umbrella/stick/flag in it! I finally gave up and escaped the room for some fresh air.
This was as close to a Renaissance group selfie as it got. Can you spot Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael himself?
The Sistine Chapel
After a final few rooms of modern art, seemingly crammed in at the end since they didn’t belong anywhere else, we joined yet another long line of people. We had arrived at the fitting last stop of the museums, the Sistine Chapel. Here we would face the famous Last Judgement by Michelangelo. The chapel is much taller and bigger than I imagined. I always pictured it on a more intimate scale as it is the private chapel of the pope. Photography was strictly forbidden inside the chapel, so I’ll just copy an official image below for reference. Of course, it was packed full of people when we were inside. And I won’t tell you Ross secretly took a photo of the ceiling.
The Ceiling
Seeing how tall the ceiling was and knowing Michelangelo painted all of it bent backward atop a tall scaffolding, my neck and back ached just thinking about the years it took to finish it. It was literally backbreaking work! No wonder he was such a grumpy old man. I was floored by all of his hard work gazing up at that second before man’s enlightenment forever frozen between God and Adam’s fingers.
The Last Judgement
Finally, the Last Judgement, painted years after the ceiling was completed by an older and much moodier Michelangelo, who was contemplating his own salvation at that time. The change in style and mood between the ceiling scenes and the altarpiece was astounding. Unlike a typical chapel with a stand-alone altarpiece on canvas, the Sistine Chapel altar is fairly minimal and the entire wall serves as the altarpiece.
It was overwhelming to take in the 300+ characters floating vertically on the entire wall. No matter how hard I tried to focus on the individual details, my eyes kept being drawn back to the central figure of Christ, solemn and severe, condemning the sinners to eternal misery.
As amazing as the Sistine Chapel was, it wasn’t an entirely pleasant experience being herded through by the museum guards, who also loudly demanded “Silencio! Quiet!” over the speakers every few minutes. They really should limit the number of visitors allowed at a time.
St. Peter’s Basilica
Climbing the Cupola
There were two options to leave the chapel, one for individuals and the other for group tours. We “accidentally” took the group one which took us right in line to climb the Cupola, or dome, of St. Peter’s. We opted out of the elevator and climbed the whole 500+ steps up. The stairs got narrower and narrower until we were sandwiched between the inner and outer dome walls, bent with the dome. The view was definitely worth it to see the arms of the St. Peter’s colonnade stretched out far below.
Inside the Basilica
Endless, dizzying downward spirals dumped us directly into the Basilica. Thank goodness we didn’t have to stand in the security line again that wound around the square outside. This photo was taken when we were leaving at 5pm.
The Basilica of all basilicas, the interior of St. Peter’s could even be described as simple and subdued. But the colossal scale that everything was built to instantly made me feel like I had wandered into the palace of giants. The baby angels were human adult size!
At last, I was face to face with La Pietà, the piece that I have waited my entire English speaking life to see in person! Thanks to that crazy guy with the hammer years ago, now we could only admire it from afar and through bulletproof glass. There is always that one idiot who ruins it for everyone.
The rest of the Basilica left me more with a feeling than specific details. The rays of light filtered through the high windows. The pale walls accented by light gray made the interior so bright and airy that the space seemed even taller. The actual golden altar was way overshadowed by the foreboding bronze Baldacchino in front. I never knew they used mosaic replicas of paintings (a Rome specialty) in churches so that the paintings wouldn’t get damaged by the candles and incense smokes.
A Tour Well Done
When we finally waved goodbye to the Swiss Guards, I was that little kid who, as soon as leaving Disney World, was drained of all energy and could barely take another step. It was then I realized how famished I was! Don’t worry, we just followed the Korean tour groups to the tastiest gelato shop in proximity! And with a crepe shop right next door, I was good to go again! I was so glad we didn’t follow the tours and were able to take our time and fully soak in all the art to our hearts’ content.
Loved our dinner at La Prosciutteria in Trastevere! Nothing can beat a charcuterie spread and glasses of wine. I think I found my dinner spot for the remaining days in Rome.
