The Vatican Museums are composed of four principal structures: the Vatican Palace itself, at the end nearest St Peters and the oldest part of the complex; the Belvedere Palace to the north, constructed in the late 1400s by Pope Innocent VIII, as a summer casino amidst the meadows that in those days surrounded this part of the city (and from which the modern neighbourhood, Prati, - “pastures” - gets its name); and the two long galleries built in the 1500s to make passage between the two palaces easier. In the middle of all this are three courtyards : the Cortile del Belvedere at the far end, the small Cortile della Biblioteca in the middle, created by the construction of the Vatican Library and Braccio Nuovo, and, the northernmost of the three, the Cortile della Pigna - titled after the huge bronze pine cone (”pigna” in Italian) mounted in the niche at the end, an ancient Roman artefact that was found close to the Pantheon. In classical times this was a fountain with water pouring out of apiece of its points. Also in this courtyard is a large modern bronze sculpture of a sphere within a sphere, which occasionally rotates - though to an erratic schedule. If you’re on a guided tour, you’ll stop here to be talked through the Sistine Chapel paintings before going in, as it’s forbidden to speak inside. Even if you’re not, it can be worth listening in, if there’s one being given in English, but be discreet.

Until the new entrance is finished, you enter by a main entrance to the museums that was created by Pope Pius XI, in 1932, its huge bronze spiral staircase leading up to the ticket offices above. On it are displayed the heraldic arms of all the popes from 1447 (Nicholas II) to Pius XI’s predecessor (Benedict XV). The staircase is in the form of a double helix, one half ascending, the other descending.