The Vatican Museums is one of the most visited museums in the world. And soon, tourists will have even more time to appreciate the thousands of historical treasures it holds.
Beginning in January 2024, the museums will extend their opening to one hour earlier in the morning and one hour later in the evening, from 8 a.m to 7 p.m.
"(We want) to give people a chance to have a more enjoyable visit and a visit that is less flooded with people," said Barbara Jatta, director of the Vatican Museums. "Because this is not only a museum of art history, but it is also a museum where each of us, each of the visitors, can find a part of our spirituality. So we want to make it less congested with the public."
The extension of hours is an attempt to fit the needs of this high number of visitors. In 2019, almost 7 million people visited Vatican Museums. But then the world went on pause during COVID-19. Now, numbers are climbing right back up to where they were pre-pandemic.
"We are back to a large influx of visitors," Jatta said. "2023 will end roughly like the pre-pandemic era and we expect something similar for 2024."
In addition to extended hours, the Vatican Museums continues to roll out new exhibitions from Renaissance artists like Michelangelo to objects from all over the world that missionaries sent to the Vatican.