Vatican Museums

The Vatican Museums are the Vatican City's public museums. They exhibit works from the vast collection gathered by the Catholic Church and the pope throughout the ages, including many of the world's most well-known Roman statues and most important Renaissance masterpieces. The museums house over 70,000 items, 20,000 of which are on exhibit, and employ 640 employees in 40 administrative, academic, and restoration departments. Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, just 1,300,000 people visited the Vatican Institutions in 2020, a decline of 81 percent from the previous year, but still enough to place the museums fourth among the world's most-visited art museums.

In October 2006, the museums marked their 500th anniversary by permanently exposing the excavations of a Vatican Hill necropolis to the public. Barbara Jatta took over as Director of the Vatican Museums on January 1, 2017, succeeding Antonio Paolucci, who had been in charge since 2007.

The Museum has 24 galleries or rooms in total, with the Sistine Chapel being the final chamber examined. Michelangelo's major paintings in the Sistine Chapel include the Creation of Adam and God Creating Adam. The Raphael Rooms, which were decorated by Raphael and his studio, and the Borgia Apartments, which were adorned by Cesare Borgia, are two more important galleries. The Vatican Museums are accessible daily except Sunday, and entry includes access to the Sistine Chapel. Saturdays are the busiest days for museums, so go during the week if feasible.

Location: 00120 Vatican City

Website: https://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en.html