A private tour to the Vatican and Saint Peter's Basilica by an art historian

General information

Destination	Category
Rome, Italy	Private Excursion

Program details

Our four-hour, critically acclaimed Arte Vaticana walking seminar is designed to give a comprehensive, in-depth introduction to the Vatican art collection and St. Peter's Basilica. Led by a scholar of Church history or an art historian, this is our most signature Vatican itinerary. Armed with reserved entry tickets, which guarantee a quick entry into the museum, we begin with the Vatican art collection, one of the world's great repositories of art. Although each walk evolves differently depending on our docent's area of expertise and the interests of the group, we generally start with a thorough overview of Papal history and the construction of the Papal Palace (now home to the Museums). We will often veer off to the chronologically-arranged picture gallery known as the Pinacoteca, which forms the perfect backdrop for a seminar on the history of painting from the late medieval to high Renaissance periods. From here we will traverse the halls of the Vatican palaces, visiting the most important rooms of the museums including the ancient statuary collection of Julius II and the Papal apartments decorated by Raphael. By the time we reach the Sistine Chapel, we will have set the context to appreciate the cultural and artistic climate in which Michelangelo worked painting the ceiling and later the Last Judgment. The last quarter of this walk covers St. Peter's Basilica, a vast church and the symbolic centre of Catholicism. Our docent will navigate this vast space, visiting the major works by Michelangelo (the dome, La Pieta) and Bernini (the canopy), fixing the church and its artworks in a social and historical context. Finally, we will emerge into St. Peter's square, designed by Bernini. The Arte Vaticana is just one of two approaches we take at the Vatican. For travellers looking for a more in-depth approach we suggest splitting the Museums and Basilica into two separate itineraries, our Vatican Collections and our St. Peter's Symposium, which deal with each site in separate three-hour segments. These two walks can be linked together into a single, six-hour itinerary (with stop for lunch) or booked on successive days to allow more time between for the information and experience to sink in. FAQ: What is the difference between the Arte Vaticana and Arte Vaticana with reservations? Our Arte Vaticana with reservations does include reserved entry reservations and pre-purchased tickets in the price, therefore it costs a bit more. This gives you the security of a reservation and frees the participants of the need to purchase tickets on site. There is a still a reserved entry line, which depending on the day, can occasionally be longer than the general entry line, but often facilitates a smoother entry.