Vatican museums and Sistine Chapel

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Include a large number of different museums, a collection of modern religious art and the refined and unique Sistine Chapel.

The magnificent and immense Vatican Museums are among the greatest and most important in the world. This explains the extremely long queues tailing back from the the entrance, especially in the high seasons such as at Christmas, Easter and during spring.Rest assured however, your patience will be rewarded inside.

In order to avoid the queues and save time, it is therefore a good idea booking your admission ticket or guided tour online.

The Vatican Museums in fact encompass a number of different museums: the Pio-Clementino Museum, the Chiaramonti Museum, the Gregorian Etruscan Museum, the Gregorian Egyptian Museum, the Gregorian Profane Museum, the Pio-Christian Museum, the Ethnological Missionary Museum, the Collection of Modern Religious Art, the Upper Galleries Museum, the Vatican Library Museum, the Pinacoteca (Art Gallery) and of course the exquisite and unique Sistine Chapel.

An entire day will not be long enough to see everything, so you would do well to dress comfortably and have a clear idea of what you really want to visit before embarking of this “expedition”.

The Vatican Museums are also open on the last Sunday of every month when admission is free.

ADDRESS

Viale Vaticano, 100

TIMETABLES

Vatican Museums - Sistine Chapel
Closed Easter and Easter Monday
Monday-Saturday: 9.00 - 18.00;
Last admission 16.00;
Last Sunday of the month: open and free of charge from 9.00 to 14.00, last admission 12.30.

On December 18th the Vatican Museums will open at 10am.

Extraordinary closures

- 01 and 06 January;
- 11 February
- 19 March;
- 22 April;
- 01 May;
- 29 June (Saints Peter and Paul);
- 14-15 August;
- 01 November
- 25-26 December (Christmas Day)

CONTACS

Email: info.mv@scv.va

Online purchase: http://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/index.html

Telephone: +39 06 69883145 - 06 69884676 info - 06 6982

Web site: www.museivaticani.va

The Borghese Gallery

Located midst the trees of Rome’s favourite public park is the Borghese Gallery, a treasure trove of artistic gems, a remarkable collection which was first begun by Renaissance Cardinal Scipione Borghese. Building on “Villa Borghese” was commissioned by this patron of the arts precisely to house one of the largest and most impressive art collections in Europe.

Bearing this in mind and the fact the paintings and sculptures are not exhibited in according to any special criteria or in any particular order, chronological or otherwise, the exhibition however reflects the refined taste and intentions of its former proprietors.

On view are some of the finest masterpieces of western art including a series of Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s sculptures commissioned by the cardinal (Aeneas, The Rape of Proserpina, Apollo and Daphne and David); Titian’s canvas Sacred and Profane Love; Caravaggio paintings including David with the Head of Goliath and the Canova’s sculpture of the reclining Pauline Borghese, Napoleon’s favourite sister, who is holding an apple in her hand evoking the Venus Victrix in the judgement of Paris.

ADDRESS

Piazzale del Museo Borghese, 5

TIMETABLES

Tuesday-Sunday: 9.00 - 19.00 (admission every 2 hours)
Last admission: 17.00;
Closed: Monday, 25 December, 1 January

Special opening
Every Thursday evening the museum is open from 7.00pm to 9.00pm. Last entrance at 7pm.

Reservation always needed.

CONTACTS

Email: ga-bor@beniculturali.it

Facebook: www.facebook.com/galleriaborgheseufficiale

Instagram: www.instagram.com/galleriaborgheseufficiale/

Online purchase: https://www.gebart.it/musei/galleria-borghese/

Telephone: +39 06 32810 (lun-ven 9-18; sab 9-13) pren. e acquisto singoli e gruppi

Web site: http://galleriaborghese.beniculturali.it/it

Founded in 1471 when Pope Sixtus IV donated a number of bronze statues to the people of Rome, they are the oldest public museums in the world. The collection or art works and archaeological relics are housed in two buildings which, together with Palazzo Senatorio, flank Michelangelo’s magnificent Piazza del Campidoglio: the Palazzo dei Conservatori and Palazzo Nuovo.

The latter two buildings are interconnected by an underground tunnel containing the Galleria Lapidaria and leading to the Tabularium, the official records office of ancient Rome, whose immense arches open out onto the Roman Forum. The original equestrian state of Emperor Marcus Aurelius is preserved inside Palazzo Nuovo (a fine replica of which is visible in the centre of the square outside).

The Capitoline Museums also offer one of the best spots to enjoy a well-deserved break in the whole of Rome: Palazzo Caffarell’s terrace, a roof-top café providing a breathtaking view of the city’s domes. Here time off can taken for brunch or a delicious Italian sandwich, various snacks, or simply to sip a coffee, tea, cocktail or liqueur.

ADDRESS

Piazza del Campidoglio, 1

Via del Tempio di Giove

TIMETABLES

Open daily, from 9.30am to 7.30pm;

24 and 31 December: 9.30 am - 2.00 pm

Last admission 1 hour before closing time.

Closed: January 1, May 1, December 25

CONTACS

mail: info.museicapitolini@comune.roma.it

site: www.museicapitolini.org

fax: 0039 06 6785488

The Capitoline museums

Trajan’s Markets were constructed during the early years of the second century AD. The area was to host warehouses, shops and offices of the imperial administration, and to serve other commercial and administrative purposes. This monumental complex, which was rediscovered between 1926 and 1934, features buildings rising from various levels on the slopes of the Quirinal Hill and on a semicircular portion facing the Forum of Trajan.

Following reoccupation and transformation over time, the area was subjected to state-of-the-art structural conservation and restoration work between 2005 and 2007. At the Museum of the Imperial Fora, which opened in 2007, visitors can admire the various sections of the architectural and sculptural adornments of the Fora, recomposed using original fragments and casts, and also by means of modular integration in stone.

To display the various exhibits, the museum uses not only traditional panels but also multimedia technologies for an original approach to museum-visiting, including interactive installations. The visits start in the Great Hall, with an introduction to the area of the Fora, and with representations of the various Fora illustrated by major findings recovered from each. Apart from the Museum of the Imperial Fora itself, the premises also host fascinating temporary exhibitions.

ADDRESS

Via Quattro Novembre, 94

TIMETABLES

Open daily, from 9.30 to 19.30
24 and 31 December: 9.30 am - 2.00 pm
Last admission 1 hour before closing time.
Closed: January 1, May 1, December 25

CONTACS

mail: info@mercatiditraiano.it

site: www.mercatiditraiano.it

phone: 0039 060608 dalle 9.00 alle 19.00

Museum of Children in Rome | Explora

Near Piazza del Popolo, in the reclaimed Spazio Flaminio, a former ATAC bus depot dating back to 1877, you will find an area especially for children from 3 to 12 years old, school groups and families.

The idea behind the museum is to represent the city, its buildings and services, proposed as an enormous toy that children can use, watch, touch and discover independently and through play and socializing. The representation of the city is emphasized by the interior scenery, with flooring in the corridors made to look like real roads, pavements and pedestrian crossings, a traffic light, plants and greenery. The external walls of the various zones display the standard signs relating to use or the service hosted. Looking out onto the square with its fountain and wall clock are the post office, television studio, supermarket, station, garage, hospital and restaurant. These offer opportunities through which children can discover the mysteries of every day things and the environment, but most of all understand themselves in relation to others.

ADDRESS

Via Flaminia, 80

TIMETABLES

Tue-Sun 10.00, 12.00, 15.00, 17.00
August: 12.00; 15.00; 17.00

Closed Monday, 1 January, 25 December, 15 August, 2-16 August 2019

Booking requested: on Saturday and on Sunday

Free visits last 1 hour and 45 minutes. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

CONTACTS

mail: info@mdbr.it

phone: +39 06 3613776

Twitter: http://twitter.com/Explora_Roma

www.instagram.com/museo_explora/