Vatican City

On this tour we will visit one of the world’s smallest states and the seat of the Catholic Church. You’ll become acquainted with how the power and influence of the Church translated into the patronage of the world’s most influential artists and architects. Bramante, Michelangelo, Raphael and Bernini each helped to shape this legacy. Your guide will help bring these masterworks to light with the stories that help you get to the know important Popes as kings and collectors as you are guided through the vast collections of the Vatican Museums. Your guide will point out the most important pieces including splendid statues, tapestries, frescoes and paintings from ancient Egyptian to glorious Renaissance, to modern masterpieces. The Sistine Chapel is one of the highlights of this tour with its beautifully restored frescoes by Michelangelo. Like thousands of other visitors and pilgrims over the centuries you’ll have the chance to gaze at work of one history’s finest artists and see how the church communicated its message. Then it’s on to St. Peter’s Basilica with the world’s tallest dome. This enormous church is a masterpiece itself with gorgeous marbles, soaring columns, Bernini’s unparalleled canopy over the main altar, and countless other treasures including the tombs of the popes. You’ll also see the piazza that spreads majestically in front of the church encircled by the graceful colonnade also designed by Bernini.