Pinacoteca Vaticana

Enjoy the best of the Vatican collections with your private guide. This skip the line 3 hours private tour is tailored to meet your special needs. With your expert licensed tour guide have the best experience, visiting the masterpieces of the renaissance art as well as the modern art. Among others your itinerary will include the highlights of the Vatican museums, the Pinacoteca gallery that contains paintings and tapestries dating back from the 11th to the 19th century, the Pio-Clementine museum which is the first court yard to be filled with ancient statues such as the colossal marble statue of “Laocoon”, Julius the II  private rooms where important political decisions were made, frescoes by Raphael and his pupils and the Carriage museum which contains saddles, carriages, automobiles and sedan chairs used by various popes through the years. Before making it to the Sistine chapel, famous for the largest frescos ever painted by man, your tour guide will lead you through the Borgia’s apartments decorated by Bernardo di Betto called “il Pinturicchio” and his assistants which now house part of the Vatican Museums’ Collection of Modern Religious Art inaugurated by Paul VI (1973). The last stop but not least is Saint Peter's Basilica. Admire the immortal beauty of the “Pietà” of Michelangelo, who was only 23 years old when he sculpted it. Your tour guide will enlighten you with the history of the most important catholic church in the world starting from the story of the apostle Peter the first pope, to the present.  

On this unique full day Vatican Tour, you will see much more than on regular tours, and at a pace that allows you to take it all in without getting tired. Starting in the Vatican Museums, where we include more galleries than the typical itinerary, including the Raphael Rooms, the Egyptian Gallery and the Pinacoteca, you will see many more treasures from the Vatican collection, including masterpieces by some of the most famous names in the art world - Leonardo Da Vinci, Raphael, Caravaggio, Titian, Perugino, Botticelli, Giotto and others. Take a break for a relaxing lunch in the Vatican Gardens before continuing the tour to St Peter’s Basilica (unch not included in the tour fee). Your local expert guide will explain the design, construction and history of St Peter’s Basilica and the Square. Learn about the architects involved in the project - Michelangelo, Bernini, Raphael, Bramante and others - and the popes they worked for. This in-depth tour of the Basilica allows you to take in much more than the typical itinerary. We take you to all corners of the Basilica, including underground to the Grottoes, where many former Popes have been buried, including Pope John Paul II. At the end of your tour, you will have the option of climbing the steps to the Dome by yourselves - your guide will be happy to assist you with this.