Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and Saint Peter’s Basilica Guided Tour

This exceptional trip includes, among other galleries of the Vatican corridors, a tour of the Pine Courtyard, Belvedere Courtyard, the Gallery of the Maps, Candelabra Gallery, Pio Clementino’s Rooms, the Tapestry Gallery, Raphael Rooms (only throughout the early morning trips) and a comprehensive visit of the Sistine Chapel. Take a 3-hour tour of one of the holiest sites in Christendom on this guided walking trip to the Vatican Museums.

Historical Background

In 800 AD when the Pope crowned Chariemagne emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, it seemed as though the old grandeur was revived again. lt was an illusion. Rome was to witness the long struggle between the papacy and the feudal nobles, and above all between the Pope and the Emperor (struggle for investiture) which gave her historical importance but also left her weakened. In 1305 the Pope was forced to transfer the papal seat of Christianity to Avignon where it remained until 1367. There now followed two difficult centuries (until the imperial sack of Rome in 1527), but meanwhile the papacy was growing in power and splendour both in art and culture.

Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel and St.Peter’s Guided Tour – The famous sculpture of Pieta is the first famous sculpture by Michelangelo Buonarroti in St. Peter’s Cathedral in the Vatican.

Popes such as Julius II and Leo X created the great Renaissance and Baroque Rome by commissioning monuments and works of art of unusual splendour to artists such as Michelangelo, Bramante, Raphael. The architects Bernini and Borromini built splendid palaces and churches in response to the Protestant Reformation. Baroque Rome with its fountains, gardens and palaces, is one of the highlights of Western culture. Now begins a new age: at the end of the 18th century the influence of the French Revolution made itself felt; Pius VI was deported to France and the short-lived Roman Republic was established. After the Restoration, Napoleon weakened the papacy.lt resurged under Pius II who regained temporal power Because of the Risorgimento, the Pope was once more forced to flee, and the Republic of the Mazzinian Triumvirate was established.

Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel and St.Peter’s Guided Tour – Ceiling of the Sistine chapel.

On the 20th of September Italian troops entered Rome, thus putting an end to the temporal power of the Pope and Rome became the new capital of Italy. For half a century there was a cold war between the papacy and the Italian state, ending with the Lateran Pact in 1929 by which date Fascism had taken over. The Pope is now once more the head of Christianity and the head of the smallest state in the world: the Vatican City Mussolini’s Fascist rule tried to bring back to Rome the glories of its antique splendours by demolishing edifices, building avenues, stadiums and monuments. The war, the invasion of Rome by the Germans, the heroic resistance of the Romans and the end of the monarchy mark the birth of the new Italian Republic. After World War II, Rome has seen: urban growth, increase in population, the years of the “Dolce Vita” (when Rome was capital of the world-renowned Italian cinema) and political problems. lt is now preparing itself for the new great world event, the Jubilee of the year 2000.