Vatican Hill

Vatican Hill is the small hill and historic precinct on the west bank of the Tiber in Rome on which the papal basilica complex and the independent state of Vatican City are located. It has been the spiritual and administrative centre of the Roman Catholic Church for many centuries.

The hill is dominated by St. Peter’s Basilica and the adjacent St. Peter’s Square, while the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel occupy a large portion of the enclosed Vatican territory. Together these sites contain major works of Renaissance and Baroque art and architecture and are among the world’s most-visited cultural and religious destinations.

A burial site and early Christian place of pilgrimage developed here in late antiquity around the reputed tomb of Saint Peter; Constantine built the first basilica on the site in the 4th century. The present basilica was constructed in stages from the early 16th century to the 17th century and the papal state was internationally recognised by the Lateran Treaty of 1929.

Geographically the hill sits immediately northwest of Rome’s historical core, across the Tiber from the Castel Sant’Angelo area and contiguous with the Borgo quarter; the Vatican complex is within walking distance of central Rome’s main monuments.

• Best time to visit: Early morning or late afternoon visits reduce queues for basilica entry and provide better light on the basilica façade and square for photography.
• Visitor requirements: Vatican Hill is the locus of Vatican City state; visitor access to interior sites requires ticketing and security screening, and dress codes apply in sacred spaces.

What to See #

• St. Peter's Basilica: St. Peter's Basilica, rebuilt between the early 16th and early 17th centuries, which dominates the hill and contains major Renaissance and Baroque art and architecture.
• St. Peter's Square and Colonnade: St. Peter's Square, conceived and executed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini in the 17th century, with its colonnades and central obelisk serving as the principal forecourt to the basilica.
• Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel: The Vatican Museums, a complex of galleries and collections located within the Vatican territorial area that include the Sistine Chapel ceiling painted by Michelangelo.