The Borgia Apartments: Pinturicchio’s Frescoes for a Scandalous Pope
Inside Alexander VI’s private rooms: Pinturicchio’s fresco cycle, the disputed Lucrezia-as-Catherine portrait, and how to fit them into a Vatican Museums visit.
The Regolini-Galassi Tomb: Etruscan Gold Found Intact in 1836
Inside Room II of the Vatican’s Etruscan museum: the 1836 Cerveteri tomb, its gold pectoral and fibula, and how to see them on a Vatican Museums visit.
Is the Vatican’s Egyptian Museum Worth the Detour?
Guided groups on a tight clock skip the Gregorian Egyptian Museum. Here’s what’s in its nine rooms, and why it’s worth 30 minutes of any Vatican visit.
The Gallery of Candelabra: Worth Slowing Down For, or Just a Hallway?
Everyone rushes through the Gallery of the Candelabra to reach the Maps. Here’s why the paired Roman marble and the Rococo ceiling deserve ninety seconds first.
The Gallery of Tapestries Trick That Only Works Walking One Direction
The Gallery of Tapestries’ famous eyes-follow-you effect only reads right from certain angles. Here’s what’s verified, what isn’t, and how to actually see it.
The Vatican Pinacoteca in 45 Minutes: Which Rooms to See
Only three of the Pinacoteca’s sixteen rooms hold paintings worth a detour: Raphael, Leonardo and Caravaggio. See which to skip on a guided Vatican tour.
Leonardo da Vinci’s Unfinished St. Jerome in the Vatican Pinacoteca
Leonardo da Vinci’s unfinished St Jerome hides in the Pinacoteca Vaticana, cut into pieces and later reassembled. See it on a guided Vatican Museums tour.
The Last Months of Raphael’s Transfiguration
Raphael died before finishing the Transfiguration. The story of its final year, his funeral bier, and the split composition on view in the Pinacoteca today.
Caravaggio’s Entombment of Christ: What to See in Room XII of the Pinacoteca
Caravaggio’s Entombment of Christ hangs in Room XII of the Vatican Pinacoteca. Here’s how to find it, read it, and why so many visitors walk right past.
Why the Apollo Belvedere Became the Measure of Beauty for 300 Years
What the Apollo Belvedere statue means at the Vatican Museums: a lost Greek bronze, Winckelmann’s verdict, and the marble copy itself. Plan your visit.