Rome Churches, Museums & the Vatican 🇮🇹

Chiesa di Santa Maria della Vittoria Small Baroque church whose Cornaro Chapel holds Bernini's Ecstasy of St Teresa, staged like theatre with marble spectators in side boxes. Church · Repubblica / Via XX Settembre · Free Good to know: Closes over lunch; no visits during Mass.

Basilica di Santo Stefano Rotondo al Celio Round 5th-century church on the Celian Hill, its walls lined with vivid frescoes of martyrdoms; quiet and often overlooked. Church / hidden gem · Celio · Free Good to know: Limited opening hours; check before going.

Basilica di Santa Sabina all'Aventino Serene 5th-century basilica on the Aventine with selenite windows and carved cypress doors among the oldest in Christian art. Basilica · Aventino · Free Good to know: Next to the Orange Garden.

Basilica di San Paolo fuori le Mura Huge papal basilica over St Paul's tomb, with a forest of columns, a palm-planted portico and a row of papal portrait medallions. Basilica · Ostiense · Free Good to know: Extraterritorial property of the Holy See, in Italy. Metro B Basilica San Paolo.

Basilica di San Pietro in Vincoli Basilica keeping the chains said to have bound St Peter, and Michelangelo's horned Moses on the tomb of Pope Julius II. Basilica · Monti / Colle Oppio · Free

Bocca della Verità Medieval church with a bell tower and Cosmatesque floor; in its portico, the ancient marble Mouth of Truth draws a queue of hand-in-mouth photos. Church / landmark · Forum Boarium · Free

Basilica di Santa Prassede Small church near Santa Maria Maggiore whose Chapel of St Zeno is entirely sheathed in glowing 9th-century gold mosaics. Church / hidden gem · Esquilino · Free

Chiesa del Gesù Mother church of the Jesuits, with a ceiling fresco whose figures spill over the frame and the lavish altar of St Ignatius. Church · Largo Argentina / Piazza del Gesù · Free

Chiesa di Sant'Ignazio di Loyola Jesuit church with Andrea Pozzo's illusionistic ceiling and a painted false dome; a mirror in the nave helps you study it. Church · Pantheon / Via del Corso · Free

Basilica di Santa Maria del Popolo Church by Piazza del Popolo's city gate, with two Caravaggio canvases in the Cerasi Chapel and Raphael's Chigi Chapel. Basilica · Piazza del Popolo · Free

Basilica di Sant'Agostino in Campo Marzio Early-Renaissance church near Piazza Navona with Caravaggio's Madonna of Loreto, whose barefoot pilgrims caused a stir when unveiled. Church · Piazza Navona · Free

Chiesa di San Luigi dei Francesi French national church near Piazza Navona holding Caravaggio's three paintings of the life of St Matthew in its Contarelli Chapel. Church · Piazza Navona · Free Good to know: Closes for a long midday break; check hours before going.

Basilica di Santa Maria sopra Minerva Rome's only Gothic church, with a starry blue vault, Michelangelo's Risen Christ, and Bernini's marble elephant obelisk outside. Basilica · Pantheon · Free

Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere One of Rome's oldest churches, its facade and apse glittering with medieval mosaics above a piazza with a fountain. Basilica · Trastevere · Free

Basilica di San Clemente A 12th-century church with apse mosaics, built over a 4th-century basilica and, deeper still, a Roman house and Mithraic temple. Church / underground site · Celio (near the Colosseum) · $ · Book ahead Good to know: Upper church free; excavations must be booked online in advance (no on-site sales).

Arcibasilica di San Giovanni in Laterano The cathedral of Rome, with Borromini's nave lined by giant apostle statues and a medieval cloister of twisted, mosaic-inlaid columns. Basilica · San Giovanni · Free Good to know: Extraterritorial property of the Holy See, in Italy. Cloister has a small fee.

Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore Papal basilica with 5th-century mosaics and a gilded coffered ceiling; Pope Francis is buried here, in a simple tomb in the left aisle. Basilica · Esquilino · Free Good to know: Extraterritorial property of the Holy See, in Italy. Jubilee Holy Door closed 25 Dec 2025. Tomb visit is free; dress code applies.

Banker Agostino Chigi's Renaissance villa, with Raphael's Triumph of Galatea and the Loggia of Cupid and Psyche frescoes. Renaissance villa · Trastevere (Via della Lungara) · $ Good to know: Mon–Sat mornings only (9:00–14:00); open second Sunday of the month.

Museo e Cripta dei Cappuccini Chapels beneath a Capuchin church decorated with the bones of thousands of friars in patterns, reached through a museum of the order. Museum / crypt · Via Veneto · $ Good to know: Open daily with a lunch break; ticket includes audio guide. Dress respectfully.

Cardinal's picture gallery in Palazzo Spada, with Borromini's forced-perspective colonnade that looks far longer than its few metres. Museum / hidden gem · Campo de' Fiori (Palazzo Spada) · $ Good to know: Closed Tuesdays (special Tuesday afternoon openings 6, 13, 27 Oct 2026). Perspective viewed from the garden; colonnade can't be entered.

Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Villa Giulia Pope Julius III's Renaissance villa holding Etruscan treasures, including the terracotta Sarcophagus of the Spouses. Museum · Villa Borghese (north) · $ Good to know: Tuesday–Sunday; closed Mondays.

MAXXI – Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo Zaha Hadid's flowing concrete museum of contemporary art and architecture, with a piazza used for installations and events. Museum (contemporary art & architecture) · Flaminio · $$ Good to know: Tuesday–Sunday 11:00–19:00; closed Mondays.

Former power station where Roman statues stand among diesel engines and turbines, an overflow of the Capitoline collections. Museum · Ostiense · $ Good to know: Tuesday–Sunday 9:00–19:00.

Museo Nazionale Romano – Palazzo Altemps Renaissance palace near Piazza Navona showing classical sculpture from noble collections, including the Ludovisi Throne, in frescoed rooms. Museum · Piazza Navona · $ Good to know: Closed Mondays. Note: Crypta Balbi, another branch, is temporarily closed.

Museo Nazionale Romano – Terme di Diocleziano Remains of Rome's largest baths with a Michelangelo-designed cloister lined with ancient sculpture and inscriptions. Museum / ancient site · Termini / Repubblica · $ Good to know: Closed Mondays. The Natatio, Hall VIII and Protohistory Museum are closed until further notice.

Museo Nazionale Romano – Palazzo Massimo Ancient Roman art near Termini: the bronze Boxer at Rest, and whole frescoed rooms from the Villa of Livia painted as a garden. Museum · Termini · $ Good to know: Tuesday–Sunday 9:00–19:00; closed Mondays. Combined one-week ticket with Baths of Diocletian and Palazzo Altemps.

Gallerie Nazionali di Arte Antica – Palazzo Corsini An 18th-century cardinal's picture gallery kept in its original arrangement, opposite Villa Farnesina, with Caravaggio's St John the Baptist. Museum · Trastevere (Via della Lungara) · $ Good to know: Closed Mondays, but with special Monday openings 12 Oct–28 Dec 2026.

Gallerie Nazionali di Arte Antica – Palazzo Barberini Baroque palace by Bernini and Borromini holding Raphael's La Fornarina and Caravaggios beneath Pietro da Cortona's huge ceiling fresco. Museum · Barberini · $$ Good to know: Closed Mondays. Ticket also covers Galleria Corsini in Trastevere.

Still-private family palace whose mirrored galleries hang Old Masters, including Velázquez's portrait of Pope Innocent X beside Bernini's bust of him. Museum / palazzo · Via del Corso · $$ · Booking recommended Good to know: Closed Wednesdays. Timed tickets; online slightly dearer than at the desk.

Galleria Borghese Cardinal Scipione Borghese's villa, where Bernini's Apollo and Daphne and Rape of Proserpina share frescoed rooms with Caravaggio and Titian. Museum · Villa Borghese · $$ · Book ahead Good to know: Booking compulsory for everyone (incl. free tickets): two-hour timed slots. Closed Mondays. Annunciation loan exhibition 20 Oct–8 Dec 2026.

Museo Nazionale di Castel Sant'Angelo Hadrian's mausoleum turned papal fortress, climbed by a spiral ramp to papal apartments and a terrace topped by the bronze angel. Museum / fortress · Borgo / Prati · $$ Good to know: Closed Mondays, except first Monday of the month Aug–Dec 2026 (afternoon, €5, ticket office only). Free first Sunday.

Musei Capitolini Museums in Michelangelo's hilltop piazza holding the bronze she-wolf and Marcus Aurelius statue, plus a terrace overlooking the Forum. Museum · Campidoglio · $$ Good to know: Open daily 9:30–19:30; last entry one hour before closing.

Udienza Generale Weekly Wednesday-morning audience with Pope Leo XIV in St Peter's Square or the audience hall, with readings and a blessing in several languages. Religious event · Vatican City · Free · Book ahead Good to know: Free tickets via the Prefecture of the Papal Household portal; collect at the Bronze Door. Check the schedule as audiences can be cancelled.

Necropoli Vaticana Small-group guided tour of the Roman street of tombs beneath St Peter's Basilica, leading to the area of St Peter's grave. Underground site · Vatican City · $$ · Book ahead Good to know: Book via the official form; the office assigns the actual slot. Groups up to 12; closed Sundays.

Musei Vaticani e Cappella Sistina Miles of papal collections, from ancient sculpture to the Raphael Rooms, ending in the Sistine Chapel with Michelangelo's ceiling and Last Judgment. Museum · Vatican City · $$ · Book ahead Good to know: Mon–Sat 8:00–20:00 (last entry 18:00). Book online at booking.museivaticani.va (online fee applies). Free last Sunday of month 9:00–14:00, no booking, long queues.

Piazza San Pietro Bernini's colonnaded piazza embracing the obelisk and fountains in front of the basilica, where papal audiences and blessings are held. Piazza · Vatican City · Free Good to know: Partly closed during papal ceremonies.

Basilica di San Pietro The vast Renaissance basilica over St Peter's tomb, holding Michelangelo's Pietà and Bernini's bronze baldacchino under Michelangelo's dome. Basilica · Vatican City · Free Good to know: Open daily 7:00–20:00 (last entry 19:15). Free entry; optional timed entry with audio guide. Security check at the right colonnade. Shoulders and knees covered. Dome is a separate paid ticket.