City guide · Città del Vaticano
Vatican City
The smallest country in the world, holding Michelangelo's ceiling and two thousand years of faith
Inside the city of Rome, on the west bank of the Tiber, covering about 0.49 square kilometres with a resident population of under a thousand, it is the world's smallest sovereign state and the centre of the Catholic Church worldwide. The dome of St Peter's Basilica is the work of Michelangelo, and at the end of the Vatican Museums' long galleries stands the Sistine Chapel — where the conclave that elects the pope is held in secret, with the *Genesis* and the *Last Judgment* unfolding overhead. Swiss Guards in their blue, red and yellow striped uniforms guard this country's everyday life.
History
How the city came to be
The Vatican area was, in Roman times, a burial ground and circus outside the city, and church tradition holds that St Peter was martyred and buried here around AD 64. In the 4th century Emperor Constantine ordered the old St Peter's Basilica built over Peter's tomb. The "Donation of Pepin" of 756 laid the foundation of the Papal States, and for the next thousand years the popes ruled central Italy, with the Vatican Palace gradually becoming the papal residence. The present St Peter's Basilica was begun in 1506 and took 120 years to complete; in the Sistine Chapel, built 1473–1481, Michelangelo painted in turn the ceiling frescoes and the *Last Judgment*. In 1870 the armies of Italian unification entered Rome, the Papal States ended, and the pope withdrew into the Vatican, calling himself the "Prisoner of the Vatican." In 1929 the Holy See and Italy signed the Lateran Treaty, and Vatican City State was formally established. In 1984 Vatican City as a whole was inscribed on the World Heritage list — the only case of an entire country so inscribed.
- AD 64St Peter martyred here (recorded in church tradition)
- 756The Donation of Pepin; the Papal States founded
- 1506The new St Peter's Basilica begun
- 1512Michelangelo completes the Sistine Chapel ceiling
- 1626St Peter's Basilica consecrated and completed
- 1870The Papal States end; the pope withdraws into the Vatican
- 1929The Lateran Treaty signed; Vatican City State established
- 1984Vatican City as a whole inscribed on the World Heritage list
Stories
Stories of the city
A dome taken on by a man in his seventies
History · St Peter's Basilica
On 1 January 1547 Michelangelo, then in his seventies, succeeded Antonio da Sangallo the Younger as chief architect of St Peter's Basilica. He said he took on the job 'only for the love of God and in honour of the Apostle'. He returned to Bramante's Greek-cross plan and redesigned the dome; when he died in 1564 the drum beneath the dome was complete, and the dome itself was built after his death by Giacomo della Porta and others.
Stories of Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel
History · Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel
The story of the Sistine Chapel belongs to Michelangelo alone. In 1508 Pope Julius II ordered him to paint the chapel ceiling — Michelangelo considered himself a sculptor, not a painter, suspected a trap laid by his rivals Bramante and Raphael, and at first tried to decline. In the end he built a scaffold hugging the vault and painted lying on his back for four years (1508–1512), completing the *Creation* with more than 300 figures in 9 scenes from Genesis, among them *The Creation of Adam*, whose two almost-touching fingers became one of humanity's most famous images. In a poem to a friend he mocked himself: "I've grown a goitre from this toil, my beard points to heaven, my head bent back on my shoulders." Nearly thirty years later another pope, Paul III, summoned him back to paint *The Last Judgment* (1536–1541) on the altar wall — in which Michelangelo painted his own face onto the flayed skin held by St Bartholomew, art history's most bitter self-portrait. And the chapel is still "at work": since 1878 the papal conclave has been held here, the cardinals locked in beneath the frescoes to vote, while white smoke from the chimney announces a new pope to the world. The museums themselves began in 1506 with the ancient Greek statue of *Laocoön*, freshly excavated: Julius II sent Michelangelo to authenticate it, bought it and put it on display — and the papal museum was open for business.
History of Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel
History · Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel
The Vatican Museums are among the world's oldest and most important museum complexes, originating in Pope Julius II's collection of the early 16th century and now comprising more than twenty galleries along a route about 7 kilometres long: the Museo Pio-Clementino (Greek and Roman sculpture, holding the *Laocoön* and the *Apollo Belvedere*), the Gallery of Maps (wall maps of all Italy painted in the 1580s), the Raphael Rooms (home of *The School of Athens*) and the Bramante double-helix staircase (designed by Giuseppe Momo in 1932), among others. The Sistine Chapel was built in 1473–1481 on the orders of Pope Sixtus IV, from whom it takes its name. In 1984 Vatican City as a whole was inscribed on the World Heritage List. Annual visitor numbers exceed six million, making it one of the most visited museums in the world.
People
People connected with Vatican City
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Must see
Places you shouldn’t miss
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Local life
Food and local daily life
St Peter's Basilica
Must-try
- Rome's four classic pastas
- Pizza by the slice
- Fried artichokes
Rome's four great pastas (carbonara / cacio e pepe / amatriciana / gricia), pizza al taglio (by the slice), carciofi alla giudia (Jewish-style fried artichokes), tiramisu, gelato
| Where to eat | Restaurants in the Borgo and Prati districts by the Vatican (avoid the first row facing the main entrance), around Ottaviano metro station |
|---|---|
| Dining etiquette | Cover shoulders and knees in churches; eating, drinking and photography inside as per the notices |
| Typical price per person | EUR 18–35 ≈ CNY 149–291 |
| Tips | The Via Cola di Rienzo area of Prati is the locals' restaurant street. |
Prices are typical rates as of October 2026, not exact quotes; CNY equivalents are approximate where exchange rates fluctuate.
Andy Li · CC0
Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel · Rome's four classic pastas
Must-try
- Rome's four classic pastas
Rome's four classic pastas (carbonara, amatriciana, cacio e pepe and gricia); a Roman-style tripe sandwich and stewed oxtail (coda alla vaccinara, signatures of old-school trattorias); Jewish-style artichokes (carciofi alla giudia, common in restaurants in the Borgo district beside the Vatican); gelato, and an Italian breakfast of a cornetto with a cappuccino
| Where to eat | Inside the museum there is a self-service restaurant and coffee bars (convenient but mediocre value); outside, the Borgo Pio pedestrian street and the Prati district (around Via Cola di Rienzo) are the Romans' own food streets, dense with restaurants at fair prices |
|---|---|
| Dining etiquette | Italians do not order cappuccino after 11 a.m. (it is a breakfast drink) — an espresso after lunch is more authentic; charges for water and bread in restaurants are normal; popular small restaurants queue at lunch on a first-come basis |
| Typical price per person | Lunch at a Prati trattoria €15–28 per person, roughly RMB 115–220; the museum self-service restaurant €18–25 per person, roughly RMB 140–195 (reference prices, estimated at €1 ≈ RMB 7.8) |
| Tips | The route is long and tiring, so eat a solid brunch in Prati before entering; the café in the Pinecone Courtyard inside the museum is a mid-way rest point, and photographs by the pinecone sculpture are uncrowded |
Prices are typical rates as of October 2026, not exact quotes; CNY equivalents are approximate where exchange rates fluctuate.
Before you go
Rules to know in Vatican City
The Vatican and churches: cover shoulders and knees and keep quiet
Do
- Wear a sleeved top and something below the knee, and carry a scarf just in case
- Take off your hat and keep quiet indoors
Don’t
- Entering St Peter's Basilica in a sleeveless top, shorts or a miniskirt
You will be turned away at the entrance.
Not yet verifiedSource: Vatican dress code (travel guide)