Vatican Museums

The Vatican Museums rank among the world's greatest art collections, assembled by popes over more than five centuries. Founded by Pope Julius II in 1506, the museums now span 54 galleries covering 7 kilometers of corridors. The collection includes ancient Roman sculpture, Renaissance painting, Egyptian antiquities, and modern religious art. Over six million visitors walk through each year, most heading straight for the Sistine Chapel.

Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel Ceiling (1508-1512) and The Last Judgment (1536-1541) are the undisputed highlights. The Raphael Rooms contain Raphael's The School of Athens, widely considered the perfect Renaissance composition. Ancient sculpture fills the Pio-Clementino wing, including the Laocoön and His Sons, Apollo Belvedere, and the Belvedere Torso that Michelangelo studied obsessively. Caravaggio's Entombment of Christ hangs in the Pinacoteca, alongside Raphael's Transfiguration, his final masterwork.