Vatican Museums: Skip the Line Tickets from 15€! And more The Vatican Museums belong to the independent state of the Vatican City, which was declared an independent country in 1929 with the Lateran Treaty. This treaty signed the new creation of the state with the signatures of the Cardinal Secretary of State, the Prime Minister of Italy at the time, Benito Mussolini, the King of Italy Victor Emanuel III and Pope Pius XI. Every year, millions of tourists visit the Vatican, reserve tickets to discover its works of art and take tours of the magnificent building where the collection is held. Today the Vatican Museums consist of 53 halls of religious works of art with a grand finale in the last hall - Michelangelo’s incredible Sistine Chapel. The very first retraceable piece of the Vatican Museums is the statue of 'Laocoon and his Sons', purchased in 1506 by Pope Julius II, publicly displaying it just a month later.