Exclusive: Niccolina Chapel and Bramante Staircase – Tour of the Hidden Gems

The Vatican Museums house the most famous and most visited art collection on Earth. Curated over centuries by the papacy, the Vatican’s attractions include the world’s most beautiful paintings, sculptures, frescoes and archaeological treasures. The collection began with pope Julius II in the early 1500s and has expanded over the centuries to encapsulate more of human history, from antiquity to the modern day.

This exclusive tour will take you through the main museums plus two hidden sites. First, your guide will expertly lead you through the enormous galleries, including the Pio Clementino Museum, the Tapestry and Geographic Maps Galleries, the Candelabra and Raphael’s Rooms. You will see all the best of the artworks and artifacts, from sculptures to the exquisite frescoes on the walls. The grandest of these are to be found in the Sistine Chapel. Its ceiling is lavished in frescoes by Michelangelo and is one of the most famous artworks in human history.

After your turn through the galleries, you will be taken to two of the Vatican’s hidden treasures: the Cappella Niccolina and the Scala del Bramante. Few people get to enjoy the Niccoline Chapel’s frescoes, which depict the stories of two Christian martyrs, Saint Stephen and Saint Laurence. Parts of the artwork have been damaged over time, but the remaining portrayals of the saints are both fascinating and invaluable. The Scala del Bramante, or the Bramante Staircase, is an architectural delight due to its unusual double helix structure. It features two spiral staircases coiling in perfect parallel, one staircase meant to accommodate upward travel and the other downward travel. From above or below, the twin spirals make an uplifting sight