See the world’s biggest art collection on a private 3-hour tour of the Vatican, including St. Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel. An amazing example of Renaissance and Baroque architecture, St. Peter’s Basilica soars to heights of 420 feet (140 meters), and goes deep down into the earth to the tomb of St. Peter. As you stroll, among the many highlights you will see are Bernini's Colonnade, the Altar of Glory, the oldest bronze statue of St. Peter, and the Canopy that Bernini made out of bronze from the Pantheon. Go to the Papal Palaces to admire paintings by Giotto, Raffaello, Leonardo da Vinci, Caravaggio, and Greek and Roman art and artifacts that include the “Apollo del Belvedere.” Admire maps drawn up by cartographers of the 16th century. The journey ends at the Sistine Chapel, covered with frescoes painted by the greatest artists of the 15th century, and completed by Michelangelo, the greatest of them all. Your guide will relate the story of how the small tomb of a poor fisherman became the center of Christianity, and for a long period, the center of the world, and the popes, kings, saints and miracles that followed.