Vatican Historical Museum, Vatican, Vatican City State

The Vatican Historical Museum is one of the sections of the Vatican Museums. It was founded in 1973 at the behest of Pope Paul VI, and was initially hosted in environments under the Square Garden. In 1987 it was moved to the main floor of the Apostolic Palace of the Lateran and opened in March 1991.

The Vatican Historical Museum has a unique collection of portraits of the Popes from the 16th century to date, the memorable items of the Papal Military Corps of the 16-17th centuries and old religious paraphernalia related to rituals of the papacy. Also on display on the lower floor are the papamobili (Popemobiles); carriages and motorcars of Popes and Cardinals, including the first cars used by Popes.

The Lateran Palace, which is next to the Basilica of Saint John Lateran to its left within the courtyard of the church with a common entry gate, is a large apartment complex of the Pope. Domenico Fontana was the architect of this palace which was built to his design in 1586. Right at the entrance the staircase is a massive and impressive structure with the ceiling decorated with frescoes. It had been refurbished by Pope Paul IV into ten halls; each of these halls had frescoes of the Mannerist Age. The hall known as the Conciliation, and was provided with allegories related to the papacy of Sixtus V. The other halls were named Constantine, Hall of Apostles, Emperors Room, Popes Room and so forth. The fresco decorations were on themes of the History of Rome, episodes of the Bible related to Daniel, David, Solomon, Samuel and others, and also related to the Gospel. Several colourful tapestries and Goblins added to the aesthetic elegance of the halls. Before the History Museum decided to relocate here to a more luxurious locale, none of the rooms had been allowed to be used for any general public purpose. Since 1991, these rooms have been exclusively used as exhibition or display rooms for the exhibits moved from the Vatican Museums.

The museum has been arranged into two wings. The principal wing is the museum of all artistic and historic importance starting with the paintings of the history of the Papal States, portraits of Popes till date, memorabilia of the Papal Military Corps including the navy, documents related to ceremonial orders of Popes, the Papal household items, and various ceremonial regalia and religious vessels and insignia not in use.

The second wing is an annex wing on the ground floor where the papamobili are on display; these consist of decorated carriages, saddles, sedans, wagons and the first cars used by the Popes.

References:

Wikipedia

Museums in Vatican City State

User Reviews

Masoud Mousavi (15 months ago)
Visit the St Peter's Basilica if you are in Rome, without any doubt. This place is really amazing. Although we had to wait for one hour to get in to the building, it was worth to do that. No Ticket is needed and is free.

Gina Cortes (2 years ago)
Thursday morning we got up early and went to St Peter's Basilica, only waited 30 mins. Walked by today (Saturday) at 9:00 am the line is circling the piazza. So, here is an alternative. Get tickets on line to visit beneath the Basilica St Peter's tomb. Meet at the Ufficio Scavi ten minutes before to get your ticket and meet your guide. There are no pictures allowed down there. Sometimes it's narrow or bumpy, the day we went, it was very muggy. For people who like catacombs and history, this is a must do. Our guide from Germany was an historian. Learned SO much! Then we walked right below the Basilica, visited Pope Benedict's tomb and then up the stairs to the Basilica!! The cost of the tour was 13 Euro.

Ann Boehm (2 years ago)
The story behind the finding of the Necropolis - an ancient city cemetery is remarkable. I strongly recommend reading, The fisherman’s tomb by John O’Neill before going through the excavation site, which includes like tomb of Saint Peter. The tour guide was informative, helpful, and carried a guide to assist us visitors in understanding the sites that we saw. Absolutely mind blowing to see the bones of Saint Peter. Tickets are not easy to get. Email the Scavi Excavation office 6 to 9 months prior to your Rome trip. They are that hard to come by, often times called “the hottest ticket to have in Rome”. The tour itself took an hour and a half and no Photography is allowed once in the necropolis. Upon exiting the necropolis you a visitor also can walk through the grotto of Saint Peter’s, which is the floor that contains the tombs of deceased popes. You can also get into the Basilica. It was a treat to have the ability to skip the lines that form outside of Saint peter’s for entry into the Basilica. Going through the Scavi was an absolutely humbling and wonderful tour, and the highlight of our visit to Rome.

Shane B (2 years ago)
Impressive, pictures don’t do this place justice. I recommend joining the que and buying tickets at the door. A lot cheaper than buying online

Don Coyle (3 years ago)
Brilliant tour, Katie (American girl) was our tour guide, she was fantastic, she involved everyone in the tour asking questions about what we knew about Rome and about ourselves and home country, loved her tour, thanks

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Infomastern

Historic Site of the week

Visby Cathedral

Visby Cathedral (also known as St. Mary’s Church) is the only survived medieval church in Visby. It was originally built for German merchants and inaugurated in 1225. Around the year 1350 the church was enlarged and converted into a basilica. The two-storey magazine was also added then above the nave as a warehouse for merchants.

Following the Reformation, the church was transformed into a parish church for the town of Visby. All other churches were abandoned. Shortly after the Reformation, in 1572, Gotland was made into its own Diocese, and the church designated its cathedral.

There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble in the 13th century. The pulpit was made in Lübeck in 1684. There are 400 graves under the church floor.

Vatican Historical Museum

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

Visby Cathedral