The Bramante Staircase and its double, and which one you will see

The most shared photo from the Vatican Museums is a spiral staircase seen from above, its metal balustrade coiling downwards like a seashell. Nearly everyone posts it as the Bramante Staircase, and it isn’t. There are two spiral staircases in the museums with the same nickname, and only one is Bramante’s. Here’s which is which, which you’ll see on your ticket and what it costs to set foot on the other. How all this fits into a visit is covered in the full Vatican Museums guide.

Which one is the real Bramante Staircase?

The genuine article is what the official site calls the «Chiocciola del Bramante», Bramante’s snail shell. The museums place it quite precisely, saying it can be seen from inside the Gregorian Etruscan Museum and that it was begun in 1512. That museum occupies the Palazzetto del Belvedere, built by Innocent VIII between 1484 and 1492, and the Tower of the Winds apartment of Pius IV.

The date comes with small print. The official site says 1512 and Wikipedia says 1505, so I’ll stick with the museums. The stories usually told about it, that Julius II wanted to reach his residence without leaving his carriage, that the paving is laid in herringbone or that the columns change classical order as you climb, come from unofficial sources. It’s a lovely tale, but I won’t sell it to you as fact.

Giuseppe Momo’s staircase, the one everybody photographs

The other one you’ll find without looking. It’s a double helix, two ramps wound together so that people going up never meet people coming down, with a worked metal balustrade and a skylight above that lights the stairwell. It’s credited to the architect Giuseppe Momo, and unofficial sources date it to 1932 and say it was inspired by Bramante’s. Hence all the confusion.

The museums publish no page on it, which obliges me to be careful. What the official site does say is that in 1932 Pius XI opened a new entrance to the museums and built the Vatican Pinacoteca next to it, opened on 27 October that year. That fits the date given for the staircase, but the website doesn’t link the two, so neither will I.

To be honest, I find Momo’s staircase more photogenic than plenty of rooms holding far more valuable art. It gives you two good shots, from the top looking down the spiral and from the bottom looking up at the skylight, and both are yours on a standard ticket, without flash, tripod or selfie stick. The rules room by room are gathered in Vatican photography rules.

Can you walk down the Bramante Staircase?

Yes, but not on the standard ticket. The official ticket office lists it under Reparti Chiusi, the scheme that opens areas the public never sees to a private group. One area costs €300 per group of 1 to 10 people, and Bramante plus the Niccoline Chapel comes to €500. On top of that goes each person’s ticket, €25 full price or €15 reduced with the booking fee included, and an official guide adds another €300.

The arithmetic makes the decision for you. A couple with a guide are looking at €650, while a full group of ten with a guide pays €850, or €85 a head. For two people it’s an extravagant treat. For a group of architecture enthusiasts it’s one of the most special things the museums sell. Keep an eye on availability too. When checked on 6 October 2026, only the Cabinet of the Masks was listed for sale, so the areas on sale change with the date. Check yours before you get your hopes up. The other openings and paid visits are compared in exclusive Vatican experiences.

How to see both on one visit

Here’s how I’d do it. On a standard ticket I’d go through the Etruscan Museum to look at Bramante’s, which is as close as you’ll get without paying for the opening, and I’d save Momo’s for whenever the route brings me to it, with five minutes for both photos. On the last Sunday of the month all of this is free from 09:00 to 14:00, though I’d expect bigger crowds.

If you’d like more ancient sculpture in the same stretch of time, the Pio Clementino Museum, home of the Laocoön is what I wouldn’t skip in that part of the building. And if it’s all starting to sound like a lot of stops, the Vatican tickets page sets out the official options so you can plan the visit at your own pace.