What to See in 90 minutes at the Vatican Museums

A dramatic marble group depicting the Trojan priest Laocoön and his sons attacked by sea serpents. Its twisting forms and intense emotion shaped the art of the Renaissance.

Once hailed as the perfect embodiment of classical beauty, this marble Apollo radiates calm power. His poised stance defined the ideal of male grace for centuries.

With polished marble and idealized anatomy, Canova revives myth in the neoclassical style. Perseus stands victorious, holding the severed head of Medusa with quiet poise.

This fragment of a seated hero inspired Michelangelo and countless artists. The muscular form, though incomplete, conveys immense power and introspection.

A portrait of the first Roman emperor as both warrior and divine leader. The sculpture combines realism and idealism, capturing authority and serenity in marble.

Stretching over 120 meters, this corridor dazzles with 16th-century frescoes of Italy’s regions. Every ceiling panel glows with gold and cartographic imagination.

Painted in Raphael’s early 20s, this fresco unites heaven and earth in harmonious composition. Figures gather around the Eucharist, embodying faith through clarity and balance.

Philosophers from every era converse in an ideal Renaissance space. Plato and Aristotle stand at the center — a visual symphony of reason, perspective, and humanism.

One of humanity’s most recognized images — God’s outstretched hand reaching toward Adam. Michelangelo captures divine spark and human fragility in a single gesture.

Covering the entire altar wall of the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo’s monumental fresco reveals both terror and salvation — an apocalyptic vision of divine justice.