St. Peter's Basilica & the dome
Details of the tour
- 2,5 hours
- Easy difficulty
- The ticket for the Dome is included in the tour
- The tour is recommended early in the morning to avoid long queues
- Saint Peter's Basilica requires a dress code
- The Papal Audience is held on Wednesday morning in St. Peter's Square. Access to the Basilica is forbidden until 13:00
- Please note that the Basilica is a religious place and may be subject to unexpected closures due to religious ceremonies.
Why limit yourself to visit a place when you can have the opportunity to live it entirely at 360°? The tour of St. Peter’s Basilica & the Dome and My Roman Way Dome will allow you to!
We will begin with the ascent to the Michelangelo’s Dome; this impressive engineering work that only a genius like MICHELANGELO BUONARROTI could think of. We know, however, that he did not finish it due to his death, in fact, the project was completed, and even a little modified, by two other greats of the time: GIACOMO DELLA PORTA and DOMENICO FONTANA.
In total there are 551 steps, but with My Roman Way you will only climb 321, as the ticket of the lift is included in the tour.
In no time at all we will climb onto the roof of the church to be ready to enter the highest dome in Rome, about 440 feet high, is the tallest building in the Eternal City.
Once inside and, before proceeding to the top, we will be able to touch, literally, the mosaics that adorn the entire Basilica … In this case it is worth thinking about St. Thomas, because we will do the same: “Touch to believe! “
Together we will go up a few more ramps and, finally, we will have this eye-catching view not only of the Vatican State, which with its110 acres is the smallest in the world, but of Rome too.
After a short break we will go down directly to the Basilica.
Starting from the baptismal font with the beautiful mosaic of the Baptism of Jesus by Carlo Maratta, we will go out and return to visit, from the right nave the Michelangelo’s Pietà, the tombs of popes John Paul II and John XXIII.
We will then arrive at the central nave with the altar of the superbe Gianlorenzo Bernini and we will read the names of the main basilicas in the catholic world on the floor.
Like the cherry on the cake, we will then move on to the Vatican Grottos to admire the tombs of some Popes buried here.
Depending on your needs, the visit can end next to the obelisk, in the center of the square, or inside the church. In this way, anyone who wishes, can visit the MUSEUM OF THE TREASURE OF SAINT PETER.
If you are passionate about sacred art and want a more in-depth visit to St. Peter’s Basilica, My Roman Way also offers the TOUR OF THE FOUR MAIN BASILICAS, where you will visit the churches of San Paolo, San Giovanni in Laterano and Santa Maria Maggiore.
A little advice!
This tour can be booked in the morning, while in the afternoon you can visit the Vatican Museums!
