The Courtyard of the Pine Cone in the Vatican Museums. If you have never been to the Vatican Museums, consider not only the Sistine Chapel but also other spaces, such as the Courtyard of the Pine Cone. It is one of the first stops you will make on your visit, a large open space of 300 square metres adjacent to the corridors and halls of the museum. If the weather is fine, enjoy the whole extent of the courtyard at leisure and pay attention to the various works of art here.

Commissioned by Popes Clement XIV (1769-1774) and Pius VI (1775-1799), this museum was intended to house Greek and Roman masterpieces from the Vatican. In the centre of the museum is the octagonal courtyard with the most famous statues: the Apollo of the Belvedere, a 2nd century A.D. Roman copy of the Greek bronze original, located in the Agora in Athens, the famous Laocoon group, a 1st century A.D. Roman copy, Perseus with the head of Medusa, by Canova (early 19th century), the Hermes Pius-Clementine, a copy of a 4th century B.C. Greek statue.

One of the most beautiful and impressive parts of the Vatican Museums is certainly the long corridor, 120 metres long and six metres wide, leading to the Sistine Chapel adorned with maps. The Gallery of Maps, commissioned by Pope Gregory XIII, was created between 1580 and 1585. The frescoes were painted by Italian and Flemish artists under the direction of Ignazio Danti, mathematician, astronomer and cosmographer. The walls of the gallery are covered with forty maps of the various Italian regions, with maps of the main cities. On the ceiling adjacent to each region are representations of the main religious events that took place there.

The Sistine Chapel is located inside the Vatican Museums in Rome and is visited by millions of tourists from all over the world every year. The Sistine Chapel is decorated by Michelangelo's splendid frescoes. His splendid works cover the vault and the back wall (with the Last Judgement) above the altar. Inside the Chapel, the conclave, baptism and other official ceremonies of the Pope are held.

From the Sistine Chapel there is direct access to St Peter's Basilica where visitors will then have free time to visit on their own