It is hard to imagine visiting Rome without seeing some part of the Vatican. Separate tours include Saint Peters, the Vatican Museums, the Gardens, the catacombs.

  

This blog is an introduction to the Vatican Museums.  The Popes have been collecting artifacts here since the mid 1300s, and it is quite breathtaking in scope.   1400 rooms.  Endless artifacts and only a fraction on display.

Unfortunately these days the museum is very very crowded, which detracts from the experience.

Here are some photos help you appreciate the enormity of this collection.

Statues by the thousands.

Many other sculptures.

Maps

Tapestries

Exhibits of artifacts from other cultures, for example Assyrian, Etruscan, Egyptian.

Paintings

And the building itself.  For example here the ceiling in the Map corridor.

The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel painted by Michelangelo is rightly revered, but the Popes invited a number of famous painters, including Raphael, to decorate ceilings and walls throughout the museum.

One can no longer take pictures in the Sistine Chapel, but I snagged these images from post cards in the gift shop to give you an idea of the paintings.