Tourist information
Opening hours
Closing days in the: every Sunday of the month except the last
Other closed days: December 8, 25, and 26, 2025
January 1 and 6, February 11, March 19, April 6, May 1, June 29, August 14, 15, and 16, November 1, December 8, 25, and 26, 2026
Free admission days in 2026
January 25
February 22
March 29
April 26
May 31
June 28
July 26
August 30
September 27
October 25
November 29
December 27
The Gallery of Maps, the Raphael Rooms, and... the Sistine Chapel
THE SISTINE CHAPEL
The principal chapel of the Apostolic Palace, as well as the Vatican's most important cultural and artistic treasure, Michelangelo's masterpiece is probably the most important and best-known Western work of art in the world.
Built between 1475 and 1481 at the time of Pope Sixtus IV della Rovere, from whom it took its name, the Sistine Chapel is known throughout the world both for being the place where the conclave and other official ceremonies of the Pope are held, and for being decorated with what is probably the most famous work of art of Western artistic civilization, the frescoes by Michelangelo Buonarroti, which cover the vault and the back wall with the Last Judgement.
The walls, on the other hand, are frescoed with fake curtains, the Stories of Moses and Christ and the portraits of the Pontiffs. Decoration that was carried out, between 1481 and 1482, by a team of painters initially made up of Perugino, Botticelli, Ghirlandaio and Rosselli, assisted by their respective workshops and some closer collaborators.
THE OTHER MUSEUMS
In addition to the Sistine Chapel, the other areas that are part of the Vatican Museums are:
- the Vatican Pinacoteca
- the Pio-Clementino Museum
- the Egyptian Museum, which houses a vast collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts, including papyrus, mummies, and the famous Book of dead
- The Etruscan Museum
- The Philatelic and Numismatic Museum, which houses all the Vatican City's stamps and coins from its founding in 1929 to the present day
- The Carriage Pavilion
- The Gallery of Tapestries
- The Gallery of Geographical Maps, created between 1580 and 1585, is an exceptional cartographic representation of the regions of Italy at that time
- The Lapidary Gallery
- The Borgia Apartment
- The Gallery of the Candelabra
- The Raphael Rooms: The Room of the Fire, the Room of the Segnatura, the Room of Heliodorus, and the Room of Constantine
Castel Sant'Angelo
Tourist Information
Opening Hours
Tuesday to Sunday: 9:00 AM - 7:30 PM, last admission: 6:30 PM
Closed on Mondays, December 25th, and January 1st
Tickets
Ticket prices (on-site): €18.00 full price, €2.00 reduced price for EU citizens aged 18 to 25.
Free admission for those under 18.
Free admission on the first Sunday of every month. In these cases, tickets can be collected directly at the ticket office, without a reservation.
The ticket is nominative for everyone, and if the information provided does not match the ID, entry to the monument will be denied (in this case, no refund will be provided).
The Castle
Built around 123 d.C. As a sepulcher for Emperor Hadrian and his family, Castel Sant'Angelo accompanies for almost two thousand years the fate and history of Rome.
From a fortified foremost funerary monument, from a dark and terrible jail to a splendid Renaissance home that is active in its Michelangelo walls, from the Risorgimento Prison to the current museum.
The remains of the original mausoleum of Emperor Hadrian are well visible in the lower partitions of the building. The large travertine blocks that cover the walls clearly show the holes of the metal grapples that anchored the Roman marble coating.
The transformation of the building from a funerary monument to a fortified outpost is about 271 dC. When, under the Emperor Aurelian, he was adapted to the fortress and became definitive in 403 with the inclusion of the building in the Aurelian walls.
It was Pope Niccolò V, about 1450, to furnish the castle of a real apartment and, fifty years later, Pope Borgia ordered the construction of a new, luxurious apartment with gardens and fountains and decorated by Pinturicchio.
From the 17th century Castel Sant'Angelo seems to gradually lose the role of residence to form itself almost exclusively as a prison; Carbonari and patriots consume their days of imprisonment between these walls, until at least September 20, 1870, when Rome was proclaimed the capital of the young Kingdom of Italy.
Then, in the wide boulevards of the Lungotevere, two bastions of the pentagonal wall are cut down; the moats that run around the building are buried; some buildings of Pope Urban VIII are grounded; Also causes the contemporary rise of the road level, the height of the facade of the castle is considerably reduced.
The Passetto di Borgo
Approximately 800 meters long, the Passetto di Borgo is the elevated passageway that connects Castel Sant'Angelo with the Vatican City and which was used by the popes to reach St. Angel Castle in times of danger.
Built in 1277 by Pope Nicholas III in a section of the Vatican Walls, in 1494 it allowed Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia) to take refuge in Castello during the invasion of Rome by the militia of Charles VIII of France, while in 1527 Pope Clement VII (Giulio de' Medici) took refuge in St. Angel Castle via the Passetto during the Sack of Rome carried out by the lanzichenecchi of Charles V of Habsburg.
Since January 1, 2025 it has been open to the public again
Booking
Guided Tours
Tour in the Vatican Gardens
Accompanied by a mini Open Bus with a rich audio guide, detailed explanations, facts and insights, we have the privilege of discovering the beauties of the Vatican Gardens after they have been closed to the public for centuries.
The ticket also includes a visit to Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museums Skip the Line
Booking
St. Peter's Basilica and Dome Tour + VIP Access to the Vatican Museums
A convenient combination to best see the most important places in the Vatican.
In addition to the entrance with guided tour to St. Peter's Basilica, the papal sarcophagi and the dome, the package includes an early VIP entrance to the Vatican Museums, to visit the museums before the crowds with a two-hour guided tour and breakfast in one of the most iconic places in the world: the Vatican bistro at the Cortile della Pigna!
After breakfast you can freely resume your visit to the Vatican museums
Tickets
