From Monday 6 May it will again be possible to visit the "Pope's gardens", and to view the natural and architectural wonders they contain. A place of rest and meditation for the Roman Pontiff since 1279, the Vatican Gardens occupy around two thirds of the surface area of Vatican City. For guided tours, both individual or in groups, online booking is obligatory.

The Vatican Museums "Photographic Service" will be the subject of the final event of this season's Thursdays in the Museums, on 4 July at 4 pm. A journey from past to present, by Rosanna di Pinto.
Thursdays in the Museums: programme 2013

The documentary film "ART AND FAITH. Via Pulchritudinis" is a multilingual production by Edizioni Musei Vaticani and is made by the Polish television company TBA for the Governorate of Vatican City State, Direction of the Vatican Museums. [More]

On the 34^th anniversary of the election of Pope Wojtyla to the Papacy, the Vatican Museums present the newly-arranged Carriage Pavilion. Enlarged, improved, with a revised order of exhibition and new didactic apparatus, the Pavilion, enriched by new and important acquisitions, has displayed since 1967 the history of papal mobility by means of an original collection of saddles, sedan chairs, carriages and automobiles. [More]

Initiated in 2009 under the artistic and scientific guidance of the Vatican Museums, major restoration of Bernini's columns in St Peter's Square is currently underway. From 20 November you will be able to contribute to this important initiative with a small gesture. By purchasing the special collector's edition of stamps dedicated to the restoration project, your name can be printed on a special certificate.
Initiative info - Order form

The Giardino Quadrato reopens to the public

With the arrival of summertime, visitors to the Vatican Museums will be able to enjoy the reopening of the "Secret Garden": a quadrilateral green area adjacent to the Vatican Picture Gallery, landscaped by the Ferrarese architect Jacopo Meleghino on commission by Paul III. Previously reserved for the pope's guests, the garden may now be freely visited as part of the museum itinerary.
The Giardino Quadrato

Greetings from the Director

Dear Visitors, firstly, a cordial welcome from the Director of the Vatican Museums. Second, you are entering into one of the most important sites for the history of human... [Continues]

Focus on the collections

Virtual online Tour of the Vatican Museums (explore the Sistine Chapel). [More]

Open doors for the Year of Faith

The Year of Faith, called for by the Supreme Pontiff in the Apostolic letter Porta Fidei of 11 October 2011, will also be celebrated in the Vatican Museums. From 11 October 2012 to 21 November 2013 the Pope's Museums, as during the Priestly Year, special guided tours on the theme of the beauty of Art and Faith will be offered to all pilgrims. [More]

MeetingPlace

Just over two months after the presentation of Etruscanning, the celebrated Regolini-Galassi Etruscan tomb again becomes the focus of attention on Tuesday 18 June, with a study day organised by the Vatican Museums and the CNR-ISMA, entirely dedicated to the study and restoration of three ancient carts found among the funerary goods. The Etruscan vehicles, again on display at the Gregorian Etruscan Museum, return to public view and admiration in their new reconstructed forms.

The Vatican Museums, in collaboration with the Musée du Louvre in Paris and the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden, is organising an international conference entitled "First Vatican Coffin Conference" which will take place over four days from 19-22 June 2013. For the first time internationally renowned scholars will compare their findings on all the themes relating to the coffins which so clearly express the clerical culture of Thebes in the Third Intermediate Period. The approach will be multidisciplinary and will link historical and textual-iconographic analysis with the most sophisticated scientific technology which has been applied to the study of both the materials used and the painting techniques, as well as restoration. [More]