Entrance to the Vatican Museums
On April 14th, in the late afternoon, the press office of the Vatican Museums sent out notice to Vatican-accredited journalists stating that again this year, for the tenth season, the Museums would be extending their hours on Friday and Saturday evenings until October 28th. For the remaining part of April, the Museums will remain open until 10:30 PM with last entry at 8:30 PM; from May 6th onwards on Fridays the Museums will remain open until 10:30 PM, but will close at 8 PM on Saturdays with last entry at 6 PM.
Cortile della Pigna
Tickets to “I Notturni” or “By Night” must be purchased on line by clicking on www.museivaticani.va and ticket. Then click on desired date, put in the number of visitors in your party and click confirm. The cost of the full-price ticket is 17 euros per person, the same as the daytime ticket; the reduced ticket 8 euros.
If you should want to start your visit with an aperitivo and extensive snack buffet in the magnificent Cortile della Pigna or Pinecone Courtyard (named for its colossal Ancient Roman statue of a pinecone located at the center of a double-ramp staircase designed by Michelangelo), scroll down to Happy Hour and book there. It gives you a time choice of 6 or 7 PM. The full-price ticket is 40 euros per person for up to five participants.
An additional and free-of-charge pleasure this year will be concerts on every other Friday evening: April 28, May 12 and 26, June 9 and 23, July 7 and 21, August 4 and 18, September 8 and 22, and October 6 and 20. Beginning at 8 PM, they will be held in the Gregoriano Profano Museo of ancient Greek and Roman sculpture and each one will last one hour. The performers will be Italian military bands and student orchestras, soloists, and singers from conservatories in Udine, Campobasso, Ravena, Novara, Cremona, Cosenza, Siena, Gallarate, Torino, and Avellino.
Gregoriano Profano Museo
Note that a visit to St. Peter’s Basilica is not included with this ticket. Another word of advice: Book soon because some dates are already sold out. I’d choose to go on a Friday evening because you have more time. Upon arrival I’d start by going straight to the Sistine Chapel and Raphael Rooms, which are the farthest away from the Museums’ entrance/exit and then work your way back via the not-to-be-missed Map Gallery to the Cortile della Pigna for an aperitivo at 7 PM. The Cortile is not far from the Gregoriano Profano Museo for the 8 PM concert, not performed on Saturdays.
Apollo Belvedere
Belvedere Torso
Laoccon and His Two Sons.
Les Etoiles at the Atlante Star Hotel
Afterwards you will have another good hour to explore the nearby masterpieces of ancient Roman sculptures. To name a few, the Apollo Belvedere, much admired by the famous 19th-century German archeologist Johann Joachim Winckelmann, the Belvedere Torso, which inspired many of Michelangelo’s sculptures, and the Trojan priest Laocoön and His Two Sons being attacked by giant sea serpents. Found in a vineyard near Santa Maria Maggiore on January 14, 1506 and purchased by Pope Julius II, this sculpture is officially the first work-of art to belong to the Vatican Museums’ collections.
Rooftop Bar at the Atlante Star Hotel
For a post-visit nightcap or meal, only a short-walk from the Museums, head to the super romantic rooftop bar of the restaurant Les Étoiles just below, both with their magnificent 360° unobstructed views of the Vatican and Castel Sant’Angelo. An aperitivo at the rooftop bar with a substantial accompanying snack of your choice costs 45 euros per person. Instead at the excellent glassed-in restaurant I recommend to start with spaghetti with sea urchins, almonds and lemon or tagliolini with rabbit ragù and black truffles followed by octopus with artichokes, mint and pecorino cheese or de-boned Iberian pig shank with crunchy bread, mirto sauce and onion soup and to end with your choice of mouth-watering dessert. On the expensive side, closing time is midnight. For a less formal and less expensive meal head to Ago + Lillo Bistrot on Piazza Risorgimento. Its endless menu offers numerous temptations from pizza, burgers, pastas and Italian main dishes and desserts. Closing time is 1:30 AM.