Vatican Museum night openings in Rome
Back by popular demand the Vatican Museums are once again putting on their summer Night Openings. From 24 April until 30 October, excluding August, each Friday night at sunset the doors of the Pope’s Museums open, enabling visitors to become absorbed in centuries worth of treasures from Vatican collections.
Visitors can browse and admire some of the most important museum collections in Vatican history. The Night Openings programme includes the Egyptian Museum, the Pio-Clementine Museum, the Raphael’s Rooms, the Upper Galleries, the Collection of Modern Religious Art, the Borgia Apartment and the Sistine Chapel.
The Vatican Museums were founded by two popes of the 18th century – Clement XIV and Pius VI. Being one of the first times Rome opened art collections to the public, the Vatican Museums led a central role in promoting art and culture among the masses. The Pio-Clementine Museum is named after these two 18th century popes.
However, the collections housed in these museums date back much further than the 1700s. The displays began in 1503 when Julius II had the Roman statue ‘The Apollo of Belvedere’, which was discovered in 1480, placed in the octagonal courtyard ‘Cortile Ottagono’.
In the ensuing decades, more popes added treasures to the diverse and growing collection of artworks owned by the Vatican.
Today the Vatican Museums comprise of 13 different museums in a huge complex, which encompass two Vatican palaces.
The Night Openings is an ideal opportunity to become acquainted with the ancient Vatican art and treasures on display in these museums.
The Night Openings begin on Friday evenings at 7pm and finish at 11pm. Last entry is at 9.30pm.