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Beyond the gilded chapels, sacred cathedrals, and marble-floored museums of Vatican City, there rests a legacy that stretches across centuries of human civilization. While millions of visitors come each year to admire the Vatican’s surface splendor, only a fraction of its immense cultural and historical wealth is visible to the public.
Vatican City is the seat of the Catholic Church, a Christian denomination that is worth at least US$73 billion. But a few of the Church’s treasures are housed within the Vatican’s vaults, archives, and underground tombs. They reflect not only the evolution of Christianity, but also the intertwined history of empires, artistic genius, and ancient wisdom.
Intrigued? Click through this gallery to see some of the priceless artifacts located in the world’s smallest country.
Beneath Vatican City lie priceless historical artifacts and mysteries far surpassing the treasures displayed above ground. These hidden wonders have intrigued historians and scholars for centuries, raising curiosity about what exactly the Vatican vaults might contain in their entirety.
When the Roman Empire fell, the Vatican inherited an immense collection of classical artifacts. For instance, it boasts the world's largest assemblage of Greco-Roman sculptures, including ‘Laocoön and His Sons,’ hailed as the pinnacle of ancient artistry.
When ‘Laocoön and His Sons’ emerged from Renaissance-era excavations in Rome, skeptics initially suspected that it was a contemporary forgery by Michelangelo. Scholars later authenticated the sculpture, identifying it as an authentic masterpiece from the Hellenistic Greek period (200 BCE to 70 CE).
The Vatican also possesses remarkable mosaics recovered from Rome’s Baths of Caracalla that depict celebrated athletes from around 217 CE. These mosaics offer a rare glimpse into the lives and physical prowess of athletic celebrities during the Roman Empire's zenith.
A 2,000-year-old bathtub once belonging to Emperor Nero resides in the Vatican, crafted from a rare Egyptian marble known as porphyry. Today, sourcing this amount of porphyry would cost approximately US$1 billion.
The Vatican archives comprise 85 km (53 miles) of shelves housing exceptionally rare documents, such as the papal letter excommunicating Martin Luther, intimate letters penned by England’s Henry VIII, and an illustrated manuscript of Dante's ‘Divine Comedy,’ originally published around 1321.
Among its invaluable holdings, the Vatican archives contain the Vatican Codex, possibly the oldest complete Bible. Created around 325–350 CE, it is one of just four known manuscripts featuring the entire Old and New Testaments, written in the original Greek.
Papyrus 75 in the Vatican treasury is especially significant, containing the oldest known fragments of the Gospel of Luke and John, including the earliest Lord’s Prayer. Such ancient manuscripts offer unprecedented insight into early Christian history.
One of Christianity's most venerated relics, the Crux Vaticana purportedly houses fragments from Christ’s cross. Although authenticity remains debated, its historical and religious significance as a Byzantine relic is widely acknowledged.
While numerous alleged cross fragments exist globally, the Vatican's Crux Vaticana holds exceptional credibility since it is the only reliquary that actually came from an emperor. The cross was gifted by Byzantine Emperor Justin II to the people of Rome in the 6th century.
The Vatican's Gregorian Etruscan Museum houses significant archaeological discoveries from the ancient Etruscan civilization. It features beautifully preserved pottery, intricate jewelry, and compelling bronze sculptures that offer intriguing insights into Italy's pre-Roman inhabitants and their vibrant cultural traditions.
The Vatican also preserves valuable medieval liturgical items such as golden chalices, patens, ciboria, and candlesticks, each meticulously crafted with intricate patterns and precious gemstones. These artifacts highlight the artistry and devotion central to Catholic ceremonial worship.
Beyond relics, the Vatican showcases extraordinary art, including Michelangelo’s iconic ceiling and altar frescoes of the Sistine Chapel. They are breathtaking depictions of biblical scenes, including the Creation of Adam and the Last Judgment.
The four Raphael Rooms, part of the Papal Apartments, are lavishly adorned chambers featuring extraordinary frescoes by Raphael himself, celebrating theology, philosophy, and humanistic thought. Vibrant compositions painted by the artist include ‘The School of Athens,’ made between 1509 and 1511.
Another Raphael masterpiece housed by the Vatican is the artist’s renowned painting ‘The Transfiguration,’ made from 1516 to 1520 and once considered the world’s most famous artwork.
Michelangelo’s revered sculpture, the ‘Pietà’ (1499), resides within St. Peter’s Basilica. This marble masterpiece was commissioned by a French ambassador in Rome, and it poignantly depicts the Virgin Mary holding Jesus after the Crucifixion.
Surprisingly, Vincent van Gogh's 1889 rendition of ‘Pietà’ is preserved in the Vatican's modern art collection. Van Gogh painted the masterpiece just a few months before his tragic death in July 1890, and it remains one of the artist’s few religious pieces.
The Gallery of Tapestries houses stunning Renaissance textiles, handwoven with silk, wool, and gold threads, depicting intricate biblical scenes like Christ's Resurrection and the life of Moses. The collection is considered one of the oldest in existence.
The Vatican is also home to the renowned Gallery of Maps, vibrant cartographic masterpieces created during the Renaissance and featuring detailed geographical depictions painted on the walls. The gallery was commissioned by Pope Gregory XIII in 1580, and covers 40 panels spanning 120 meters (393.7 feet).
After the Protestant Reformation waged war against religious art in the 16th century, the Catholic Church responded with dramatic Baroque art designed to emotionally engage viewers. Gian Lorenzo Bernini spearheaded Rome's visual revival, exemplified by his evocative sculpture depicting Emperor Constantine’s conversion to Christianity.
Stored within carefully guarded vaults are extravagant papal tiaras, crowns, rings, and ornate jewelry, embellished with dazzling diamonds, precious emeralds, and shimmering gold. They truly are symbols of the wealth, authority, and ceremonial prestige historically vested in the leaders of the Catholic Church.
In the Numismatics Cabinet, visitors can marvel at the Vatican's extensive collection of historical coins and medals, minted in gleaming gold, silver, and bronze. These coins capture crucial moments of religious and political significance, and bear images of popes, saints, and symbolic events.
The Vatican's Egyptian Museum displays artifacts including meticulously preserved mummies, ornate sarcophagi, intricately carved hieroglyphs, and majestic statues, offering visitors a fascinating window into ancient Egyptian culture, spirituality, and daily life along the banks of the Nile.
St. Peter’s Basilica, constructed atop an older church commissioned by Emperor Constantine in the 4th century, reportedly marks the burial site of the Apostle Peter. Beneath the basilica, archaeological excavations have revealed astonishing ancient structures.
In the 1930s, excavation work beneath St. Peter's Basilica unveiled a hidden necropolis featuring pagan mausoleums, dating centuries before medieval times. This discovery significantly altered the historical understanding of Vatican City's early religious significance.
Further excavations uncovered a wall matching ancient descriptions of St. Peter’s tomb directly beneath the basilica's altar. The wall also includes a Greek inscription that translates to "Peter is here."
Human bone fragments discovered near the inscribed wall beneath the altar belonged to a man aged between 60 and 70 years. Given historical records indicating Peter's age during crucifixion, scholars speculate these could indeed be his remains.
Regardless of archaeological debates, Bernini’s immense bronze Baldachin, erected in 1634, symbolically marks Peter's tomb site. At its creation, this monumental structure was the largest bronze sculpture ever crafted, standing 28.7 meters (94.3 feet) tall.
From ancient manuscripts and imperial relics to sacred bones and soaring masterpieces, the Vatican remains one of humanity’s most profound repositories. These wonders together form a multilayered narrative that preserves not just the Catholic faith, but the shared soul of civilization itself.
Sources: (Vatican Museums) (Carpe Diem Tours) (Britannica) (History.com)
The treasures kept inside the Vatican
The sacred relics housed by the Holy See
LIFESTYLE Religion
Beyond the gilded chapels, sacred cathedrals, and marble-floored museums of Vatican City, there rests a legacy that stretches across centuries of human civilization. While millions of visitors come each year to admire the Vatican’s surface splendor, only a fraction of its immense cultural and historical wealth is visible to the public.
Vatican City is the seat of the Catholic Church, a Christian denomination that is worth at least US$73 billion. But a few of the Church’s treasures are housed within the Vatican’s vaults, archives, and underground tombs. They reflect not only the evolution of Christianity, but also the intertwined history of empires, artistic genius, and ancient wisdom.
Intrigued? Click through this gallery to see some of the priceless artifacts located in the world’s smallest country.