Museum Building · Vatican City, Vatican City
Vatican Museums
The Vatican Museums (Italian: Musei Vaticani; Latin: Musea Vaticana) are the public museums of the Vatican City. Built 1506. It drew 1,612,530 visitors in 2021.
Photo: Wilfredor via Wikimedia Commons, CC0. Cropped and resized for display.
Landmark facts
| Location | Vatican City, Vatican City |
|---|---|
| Type | Museum Building |
| Built | 1506 |
| Annual visitors (2021) | 1,612,530 |
| Coordinates | 41.9064° N, 12.4544° E |
Every fact above is taken from the sources listed below; anything no source states is left blank rather than guessed.
What Vatican Museums is known for
The Vatican Museums (Italian: Musei Vaticani; Latin: Musea Vaticana) are the public museums of the Vatican City.
About Vatican Museums
The Vatican Museums (Italian: Musei Vaticani; Latin: Musea Vaticana) are the public museums of the Vatican City. They display works from the immense collection amassed by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries, including several of the best-known Roman sculptures and most important masterpieces of Renaissance art in the world. The museums contain roughly 70,000 works, of which 20,000 are on display, and currently employ 640 people who work in 40 different administrative, scholarly, and restoration departments.
History
The Vatican Museums trace their origin to a single marble sculpture, purchased in the 16th century: Laocoön and His Sons was discovered on 14 January 1506, in a vineyard near the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. Pope Julius II sent Giuliano da Sangallo and Michelangelo, who were working at the Vatican, to examine the discovery. On their recommendation, the Pope immediately purchased the sculpture from the vineyard owner.
Planning a visit? Visit the official Vatican Museums website — the official site has the current visiting information.
How to get there
| Nearest town | Vatican City |
|---|---|
| Nearest airport | Ciampino Airport (CIA) |
| Distance from the airport | 10.2 miles (straight line) |
Nearest major airport by straight-line distance from the landmark’s coordinates; road distance will be longer.
Airports near this landmark
The airports a visitor would actually fly into, nearest first — each link opens its profile on our sister site AirportProfiles.
- Ciampino–G. B. Pastine International Airport (CIA) · Rome, Italy · 10.4 miles away
- Rome–Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci International Airport (FCO) · Rome, Italy · 12.6 miles away
- Perugia San Francesco d'Assisi – Umbria International Airport (PEG) · Perugia (PG), Italy · 82.2 miles away
Landmarks nearby
The closest landmarks in this library, by straight-line distance.
More landmarks in Vatican City
More museum buildings
Frequently asked questions
What is Vatican Museums?
The Vatican Museums (Italian: Musei Vaticani; Latin: Musea Vaticana) are the public museums of the Vatican City.
Where is Vatican Museums located?
Vatican Museums is in Vatican City, Vatican City. Its coordinates are 41.9064° N, 12.4544° E.
How do I get to Vatican Museums?
The nearest town is Vatican City, and the nearest airport is Ciampino Airport (CIA), about 10.2 miles away (straight line).
When was Vatican Museums built?
Vatican Museums was built 1506.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_Museums — Wikipedia article — overview, history and core facts (CC BY-SA).
- https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q182955 — Wikidata — built year, architect, height/size, visitors, official website (CC0).
- http://www.museivaticani.va — Official website of the landmark / managing body.
- https://github.com/jbrooksuk/JSON-Airports — Nearest major airport computed from landmark and airport coordinates (haversine); airport list: jbrooksuk/JSON-Airports.
Page last updated 13 November 2026.