My Prestigious: Small Group Guarantee

The Original Masterpieces of the Vatican and St Peters

Experience the highlights of this world famous collection of masterpieces with a great guide

The Vatican is one of the world’s greatest museums. It holds within its walls and halls the greatest homage to Western Civilization in a single complex- as well as pre dating most contemporary museums by centuries it houses some of the world’s finest examples of  art and architecture. Be warned the Vatican collection is vast and overwhelming -a good guide is essential to navigate the over four miles of treasures displayed. This entertaining tour focuses on the absolute must-sees and famous masterpieces including the Sistine Chapel ceiling by Michelangelo and the Raphael rooms. We will then experience the most magnificent church on earth -St Peters before ending in superb square designed by Bernini.

Highlights: Michelangelo’s Dome, Belvedere Courtyard (Cortile della Pigna), Chiaramonti  Collection, Pio-Clementino Collection, Stanza Rotonda, Stanza della Croce Greca,  Bramante’s Triple Gallery, Raphael Rooms, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica, St. Peter’s Square

Italy Tour Rome Tours	Rome Tour Small Group Vatican Tour My Prestigious: Small Group Guarantee   The Original Masterpieces of the Vatican and St Peters
When	2.00 Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays. May 1st to November 1st *Restricted schedule August, tours only on the 20th, 27th and 29th of August
Price per person	50 Euro per person. Children 3 and under free Currency Converter
Length	3-4 hours
Meeting Point	Vatican Museums Cafeteria which is inside the museum
Includes	Prestigious small group guarantee of maximum 14 persons, a great guide, audio headsets to better hear your guide
Excludes	Optional gratuities Museum Ticket entry, we meet inside the museum at the cafeteria
Weather	This tour runs rain or shine
Notes	Public Rome Tours are available from May 1 2008 through November 17, 2008. Private tours are available all year round exclusively for you.  Please see our Private Rome Tours  for more information. Participant Minimum required to run the tour: 6 persons Maximum 14 You may wish to have a light   Lunch: We suggest a light lunch in the Vatican Cafeteria while waiting fior your guide Tour ends in St Peters Square
See a map and photo of the meeting point	We have provided where available a map and photo of the meeting point,please click here
SPECIALS!	My Prestigious Rome in One Glorious Day (or Two) Experience the grandeur of Rome with our wonderful guides

Rome Tour Small Group Vatican Tour Description

This Vatican tour is designed to give a comprehensive, in-depth introduction to the masterpieces of the Vatican’s art collections, the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica.  Here we will have before us one of the finest collections of art and architecture in the world, built up over centuries on account of the artistic, political and religious ambitions of the popes.

Consisting of a complex of buildings of unrivalled scope and importance the Vatican palaces house the finest examples of the greatest epochs of art and architectural history in the world.  It is, however, misleading to think of the Vatican primarily as a museum or a collection of religious art. The Vatican is quite different and much more for the reason that it has absorbed within itself the great heritage of the Classical world in which our own civilization still has its roots.  Here we will encounter the point of intersection between an ancient and a modern world.

Whether we come as pilgrims or as visitors interested in art and culture, we will be confronted by a unifying vision of two thousand years of Western culture. The centuries will speak to us as if we could touch them. 

Beginning with the impressive sight of the Michelangelo’s Dome resting upon St. Peter’s Basilica, we are treated to an historical overview of the entire Vatican City complex.  From here we begin to traverse the elaborately decorated halls of the Vatican palaces, visiting the most important sites of the museum complex, including the ancient statuary collection of Pope Julius II, the majestic galleries of Bramante’s corridor and the papal apartments decorated by Raphael Sanzio.  By the time we reach the Sistine Chapel, we will have set the background to begin to appreciate the cultural and artistic milieu in which Michelangelo painted the famous Sistine Chapel ceiling and its front wall: the Last Judgment.

The last section of the itinerary covers St. Peter’s Basilica, the symbolic center of Catholicism and principle church of the popes since the 15th century.  Here we will experience the vast space of one of the most majestic buildings in the world and see the major works by Michelangelo (the interior dome and the Pietà) and Bernini (the canopy), fixing the church, its architecture and artworks in their social and historical context.  We will finally emerge into the spectacular St. Peter’s Piazza, designed by Bernini, and the end-sum of the Vatican City State.

Rome Vatican Tour Itinerary in brief:

Michelangelo’s Dome

Belvedere Courtyard (Cortile della Pigna)
Chiaramonti Collection
Pio-Clementino Collection
Stanza Rotonda
Stanza della Croce Greca
Bramante’s Triple Gallery

Raphael Rooms

Sistine Chapel

St. Peter’s Basilica

St. Peter’s Square