The Vatican City State is the smallest sovereign country in the world–a political unity that houses one of the richest collections of art in the world. In the centuries when the different Popes were the leaders of Rome and the Pontifical State, they created one of the richest art collections of Europe. Rome had been their property since the XV century, where they were to commission artists of the likes of Michelangelo, Botticelli, Perugino, Raphael, and Bramante. The city was a treasure trove for these artists who all came from the Italian peninsula. Here, the different popes could follow their interest in collecting and preserving the Ancient Greek and Roman art that had been abandoned during the medieval centuries. Together with these artists, the popes began to create one the first museums of the world: the Vatican Museum.

I will accompany you in this fascinating adventure of discovering the works created thousands of years ago, and help you to understand the meaning and the myth hidden in each marble portrait, sculpture or sarcophagus. Furthermore, walking with me through these galleries is to enter into the history of religions, from Paganism to Hebraism and up to Christianity.