Vatican City essentials

Vatican City contains the world's most significant collection of Renaissance and Baroque masterpieces. This enclave houses Saint Peter’s Basilica, the largest church in Christendom, featuring Michelangelo’s dome and Bernini’s bronze baldachin. The Vatican Museums span several miles of galleries, culminating in the Sistine Chapel's ceiling frescoes and "The Last Judgment." Below the basilica lies the Vatican Necropolis, an ancient burial ground containing the purported tomb of Saint Peter. The monumental St. Peter’s Square, framed by Bernini’s quadruple colonnade, centers on an ancient Egyptian obelisk.

Vatican City Essentials — Map

Jolly Janner / Public domain

A

Saint Peter's Basilica

Major Renaissance and Baroque Catholic basilica known for its architectural masterpieces and religious significance as a pilgrimage site and principal church of the Catholic Church.

Titian / Public domain

B

Vatican Museums

Complex of museums and galleries housing one of the largest and most important art collections assembled since the 16th century, featuring works from antiquity and the Renaissance.

Jean-Pol GRANDMONT / CC BY-SA 3.0

C

Sistine Chapel

Renaissance chapel renowned for its stunning frescoes by Michelangelo and other master artists. It serves as a significant religious site and venue for papal ceremonies.

Diliff / CC-BY-SA-3.0

D

St. Peter's Square

Elliptical Baroque square featuring a central obelisk and grand colonnades designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. It serves as the monumental forecourt to a major basilica and is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

E

Pietà

Michelangelo's 1499 marble masterpiece depicts the body of Jesus on the lap of his mother Mary after the Crucifixion. Located in the first chapel on the right of Saint Peter’s Basilica, it is the only work the artist ever signed.

Jean-Pol GRANDMONT / CC BY 3.0

F

Apostolic Palace

The Apostolic Palace is the official residence of the Pope, the head of the Catholic Church, located in Vatican City.

Mogadir / CC BY 3.0

G

Vatican Necropolis

The Vatican Necropolis lies under the Vatican City, at depths varying between 5–12 metres below Saint Peter's Basilica.

Matteo Casappa / CC-BY-SA

H

Bernini's Colonnade

Designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini between 1656 and 1667, these four rows of 284 Doric columns frame St. Peter's Square. The elliptical structure is topped by 140 statues of saints and symbolizes the "maternal arms of Mother Church."

I

Vatican Obelisk

A 25-meter-tall red granite Egyptian obelisk originally brought to Rome by Caligula in 37 AD. Pope Sixtus V relocated it to the center of St. Peter's Square in 1586; it serves as a giant sundial.

J

Pinecone

A colossal 1st-century Roman bronze pinecone that originally served as a fountain near the Pantheon. It now stands in the Vatican Museums' Cortile della Pigna, flanked by two bronze peacocks from Hadrian’s Villa.

Alex Proimos / CC BY 2.0

K

Royal Staircase

Scala Regia is a flight of steps in the Vatican City and is part of the formal entrance to the Vatican.

Keystone View Company / Public domain

L

Maderno Fountain

The Fountains of St. Peter's Square are two fountains in St.

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