Enjoy the Sistine Chapel as Popes and princes did: early in the morning. This private tour offers the perfect environment to explore the Sistine Chapel and other works of incomparable beauty in the Vatican Museums. Your personal guide will help you visualize the cultural context in which such works arose, immersing you in the climate of the Renaissance. This exclusive Vatican private tour will take you to discover this season of human history when the flowering of the arts was accompanied by the evolution of science, together laying the foundations for much of our modern world. This was a period of overwhelming enthusiasm and of amazing innovation. The men of the Renaissance didn't merely dream of changing the world, they  revolutionised it. The printing press, the geographic maps with which Columbus reached the Americas, modern science, architecture, art, and the modern sense of beauty were all creations of the Italian Renaissance.  Some of the the most important works that you will discover, such as timeless Greek masterpieces like the Laocoon, the Belvedere Torso and the Apollo Belvedere, were excavated at the time of Michelangelo and Raphael, who studied and admired them in the same architectural context in which they are preserved today. The artworks that they created are the fruit of their careful study. And so you too will pass through the Pinecone courtyard, the Belvedere courtyard and the tapestry galleries on your Vatican private tour, discovering a selection of masterpieces with a guide capable of recreating the climate of the epoch, helping you to appreciate the Raphael Rooms and the Sistine Chapel in their historical context. Please note, the Basilica of St.Peter's may be subject to unscheduled closings and late openings for religious ceremonies. Because these are often last-minute for security reasons, guests will not be notified in advance. Instead, you will be provided with a complete experience by exploring the Vatican Museums in more detail. T. Please also note that the Wednesday morning tour will not visit St. Peter's Basilica, as the church is closed for the weekly Papal Audience at this time. The tour will run as normal, with the extra time spent exploring the Vatican Museums in more detail.