Vatican Museums

The Directorate of the Museums and Cultural Heritage is renewing its contribution to Beauty in this special Jubilee year, inaugurating a new season of the “Musica ai Musei” (Music at the Museums): from 27 February to 22 November, a rich calendar of thirteen evening musical events will be offered to visitors to the Vatican Museums and the Castel Gandolfo Museum Complex.

The initiative – free of charge and included in the entrance ticket – is part of the range of cultural events planned for the Holy Year, in pursuit of sharing the beauty of the arts and in the name of the universality of the musical language.
“The programme for 2025, unlike the previous ones, will already begin in February”, notes the Director of the Vatican Museums, Barbara Jatta, “boasting a programme that highlights, through music, a special Jubilee journey, in harmony with the visual suggestions of the pontifical collections and the exhibition events promoted in this time of grace and mercy”.

In continuity with past editions, and thanks to the long-standing collaboration with the Italian National Music Committee, the Pope's Museums confirm their openness to young talents from the most prestigious international music academies. Instrumental and vocal talents from all over Italy will therefore be performing live among the masterpieces of the papal collections. On no less than four dates in the programme they will perform on a “stage” that is unique in the world for its visibility and artistic beauty.

Back again this year, under the artistic direction of the CIDIM, is the acclaimed participation of musical bands, from those of the Vatican Gendarmerie Corps or the Pontifical Swiss Guard, to the orchestras of the State Police and the Local Police of Roma Capitale. Their lively performances in the majestic surroundings of the New Wing or in the open Courtyard of Honour of the Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo are already expected to be both impressive and engaging.
This edition of “Musica ai Musei” will be further enhanced by the nascent collaboration with the “Maria Di Pasquale” E.T.S. Musical Cultural Association, which will enrich the event with musical contributions retracing seven hundred years of music history, also thanks to the performance of internationally renowned performers. Special attention will be paid to jubilee themes in order to “amplify” through music, in an interplay of cross-references and correspondences, the exhibition initiatives or research and restoration activities scheduled for the current year.

As part of the musical events - with GetYourGuide as a partner in the initiative - visitors to the Vatican Museums can, upon request, enjoy a guided tour service and treat themselves to a pleasant coffee break at the bistro in the Courtyard of the Pinecone (The Happy Hour and guided tour service can be booked when purchasing tickets online).
The calendar and programme may undergo modifications due to force majeure.