Recommended Website:
Vatican Museums
At this, the official website of the Vatican Museums, you can take a virtual tour of the Museums within the Vatican including the Sistine Chapel, Gregorian Egyptian Museum, Gregorian Etruscan Museum, Raphael’s Rooms, Pinacoteca, and the Ethnological Missionary Museum. You can view the stunningly beautiful artwork created by masters like Raphael and Michelangelo that are included in the Museum’s collections, and zoom in for details of paintings, frescoes, and other artwork. Information on the pieces is provided as well.
When you get to the site you will see a short introduction and a menu of choices that include:
- Vatican Museums Online — click on this to view, room by room, the museums and collections within them. There is descriptive text provided as well.
- Online Tours — click on this option to take some tours of selected sections within the Vatican museums, and selected works of art as well.
You will also find “Info Museums” that provides a history of the Museums and information on visiting them in real time, as well as a “Help” section if you need information on how to use various technical features of the online tours.
While the artwork will appeal to many ages, exploring the sites requires the ability to read and use a computer keyboard, making this an excellent site for family explorations.
