Join me on an exclusive walk through the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel when it was closed to the public.    My guide, Michela Landolfi from LivTours, shares her knowledge from over 10,000 visits and brings us through the beautiful rooms that were formerly the residence of the Popes.   We get to see the brilliant frescoes of Raphael and Michelangelo up close, without anyone else around, the surprising beauty of the Gallery of Maps, ancient artifacts and objects, and I end up in the Sistine Chapel, awestruck and lost for words.    Book the same tour I did from the LivTours website through this link: Alone in the Vatican: https://livtours.info/earfulalone.   Mentioned in the episode:

• Trevi Fountain 
• Trastevere Neighborhood
• Sistine Chapel
• Raphael’s Rooms (rooms in the Vatican with famous frescoes by Rapheal)
• Private Papal Apartments/Vatican Museums (museums that are former residences of the pope)
• Geography Room/ Gallery of Maps (fresco gallery with maps painted on the walls)
• The New Pope (Michela’s favorite show about the Vatican)
• Saint Peter’s Basilica

This season of The Earful Everywhere is proudly brought to you by LivTours, who made it possible for us to share these travel stories with you. LivTours offers hundreds of carefully crafted journeys across Rome, Italy, and beyond. Find more from them below.

• Rome Tours Page: https://livtours.info/earfulrome
• Vatican Tours Page: https://livtours.info/earfulvatican
• LivTours Homepage: https://livtours.info/earful
• Alone in the Vatican: https://livtours.info/earfulalone
• Colosseum: https://livtours.info/earfulcolo
• Venice Tours: https://livtours.info/earfulvenice

This episode was part of our ten-part series on Italy: Eight episodes about Rome, two about Venice. We'll be sharing our observations, but we'll also take you along to visit some of Italy's top attractions, led by LivTours guides. We also share the sounds of the streets and the locals.

• Follow The Earful Everywhere on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/theearfuleverywhere
• And find more from The Earful Tower Paris here: https://theearfultower.com/

Music by Pres Maxson. Editing by Thomas Farnham.