The decoration of the palace and of the adjacent Sistine Chapel constitutes a unique ensemble of the pictorial art of the Renaissance, from the time of that cultural movement's origin until its full maturity in the second half of the 16th century. Fra Angelico, Perugino, Botticelli, Signorelli and Pinturicchio in the 15th century, Raphael, Michelangelo, Giulio Romano, Perin del Vaga and a whole host of other 16th-century painters, including Giorgio Vasari and Taddeo Zuccari, have left their masterpieces on the walls of the palace.

The first actual museums, devoted to classical Greco-Roman statuary, the fruit of archeological excavations, in Rome and Latium, were founded by the popes of the 18th and 19th centuries.

The Pio-Clementine Museum (map no.30) was conceived by Clement XIV, who, in the years 1770 - 73, transformed the interior of a 15th-century loggia (the Palazzetto del Belvedere) and the charming little garden next to it in which Julius II and his immediate successor had assembled their personal collections of classical marbles, the early nucleus of the Vatican collections. The Museum was later enlarged (1776 - 86) by Pius VI with the construction of new buildings inspired by the architecture of imperial Rome.

The Gallery of the Candelabra (map no.27) was created in 1785 - 88 as a continuation of the Pio-Clementine Museum.

The Chiaramonti Museum (1805 - 07; map no.25) and the "Braccio Nuovo" (1817 - 22; map no.24) were both set up by Pope Pius VII Chiaramonti. Under the supervision of Antonio Canova, other classical sculptures brought to light following the setting up of the Pio-Clementine Museum were arranged in them.

The Inscription Gallery (map no.21) came into being in 1808. Its walls bear classical, pagan and Christian inscriptions.

In the 19th century three other museums were created by Pope Gregory XVI:

• the Etruscan Museum (1837; map no.29), housing works brought from found excavations carried out in the necropolises of southern Etruria;
• the Egyptian Museum (1839; map no.29), containing statues found in Rome and its environs that had been brought from Egypt in the imperial age;
• the Tapestry Gallery (1839; map no.27), in which the series of tapestries woven in Brussels on cartoons by Raphael's school can be admired.

In the 20th century, under Pope Pius XI, the Vatican collection of paintings was given a definitive arrangement in a building set aside specially for it, the Pinacoteca (1932; map no.36).

Later (1973), during the papacy of Paul VI, three important collections formerly kept at the Lateran Palace were arranged in a modern building constructed for the occasion:

• the Gregorian Profane Museum (map no.35), founded by Gregory XVI in 1844, containing classical statuary;
• the Pio-Christian Museum (1854; map no.35), created by Pope Pius IX to house works coming from the excavations of the catacombs;
• the Missionary-Ethnological Museum (1926; map no. 35), founded by Pius XI, exhibiting objects from extra-European cultures.

The Carriage Museum (map no.37), containing the 19th century carriages and vintage motorcars belonging to popes and cardinals, was opened in 1973.

In the same year Pope Paul VI inaugurated the Gallery of Modern Religious Art, a collection of paintings, sculpture and graphic works by contemporary artist.

Useful Information

• Visit to the Vatican Museums. The Vatican Museums are open on weekdays from 8.45 a.m. to 1.45 p.m. (8.45 a.m. to 4.45 p.m. during the Easter period, and from 1 July to 30 September, except on Saturdays when the hours remain 8.45 a.m. to 1.45 p.m.). Open also the last Sunday of each month (when admission is free). The entrance (see Vatican City map, no.34) ends one hour before closing time.

• Headphones. can be hired for the Sistine Chapel and the Raphael Rooms.

• A self-service restaurant. is open during visiting hours.

• Bus service to and from the Museums. A Vatican bus leaves regularly from the Information Office to the Vatican Museums and vice-versa. Departure from St. Peter Square (see Vatican City map, symbols).