Massive! The amount of antiquities housed in that one area is amazing. I'll start with the basics. The museum is open from 8:45am to 3:45pm. The last persons are allowed in at 2:20pm. When you get to the museum, you'll see the line stretching around the street and probably to the front of the Vatican itself. That is normal, and it should only take about half an hour to get inside. They usually have between 4-6 metal detectors going. We were also surprised to know that we could take our baby's stroller inside. We had to check it in when we went inside St. Peter's. Photography is allowed in the museum in certain sections. You are not allowed to use flash photography near the artwork or tapestries, and no photos at all in the Sistine Chapel.

The major sections the museum has are: Egyptian & Assyrian art, Greek & Roman art, Etruscan & Italic art, early Christian & medieval art, 15th-19th century art, and modern religious art. Have a plan of attack before going because it is really easy to get turned around and end up missing what was on your list.

The Vatican museums hold the largest treasure trove in Italy and are a testament to the wealth and, politely put, acquisitive nature of the Papacy. There are Etruscan and Egyptian exhibits, Renaissance art and statuary as far as you can see. And that’s before you even look at the building itself – most of the great Renaissance artists were in the pay of the Pope at one time or another and turned their hand to a little painting and decorating for their patron.

Take note: the museum complex stops letting people in fairly early in the afternoon. No quick tour at the end of the afternoon is possible here. Accept before you start – you will not see everything. We were intent on seeing only the essentials; the Blonde was showing symptoms of culture fatigue (and who can blame her after being dragged round Florence, Siena and Rome?) and I only had enough interest left for ‘champagne art’ – none of your promising unknowns for me.

We took the Rough Guide’s advice – the only essentials being the Raphael Stanze and the Sistine Chapel. Of course, these are buried deep in the museum and so you are forced to enjoy the galleries of candelabra, tapestries and maps en route. I’d like to say that we didn’t rush past through these wonderful collections of 16th century treasures but we were rapidly descending into a ‘teenager on a school trip’ state of mind…"another really old painting . . . like . . . wow".

And then we walked into the collection of rooms decorated by Raphael and his pupils for Pope Julius II and Pope Leo X. A feast for the eyes. A violent assault of colour and imagery . . . you pick the superlatives. These were the offices and apartments of the Pope – how could he have ‘worked’? (unless your work involves impressing minions with your wealth and taste I suppose..). Reading about the works beforehand certainly helped my appreciation. My favourite fresco is in the Stanza della Segnatura; the School of Athens with many of Raphael’s contemporaries fulfilling roles as Greek academics and philosophers.

The only other temptations in this vast museum were the Sistine Chapel (separate entry) and the Borgia apartments – the stories and rumours about Pope Alexander VI and his family are incredibly compelling – but you have to know when enough is enough. Our thoughts had turned to relaxation in the form of Sorrento and its beaches. Time to leave all this history behind. Except for Pompeii, of course.

It stretches 109 acres and even has its own postal system, separate to that of Rome and also, jail and service station etc. for those who reside on the inside.

As you can see from the phot below, the grounds are maintained to the highest of standards and it seemed like there is a whole new world inside.