The stunning Bramante Staircase | Vatican Museum

A good surprise during my trip to Rome, Italy last September was to find this beautiful staircase while I was visiting the Vatican Museum in the Vatican City. I actually had never heard about this staircase before and it was not on my plans to photograph it. In fact, I almost left my main camera in the hotel this day since they are not tripod friendly in the Vatican Museum and St Peter’s Basilica. Needless to say that now I’m thankful for not leaving the camera behind :)

The Bramante Staircase is a double helix staircase designed by Giuseppe Momo in 1932 and it features granite doric columns and a herringbone paving pattern. A canopy located above provides the necessary light to illuminate the stairs. The staircase is located at the end of the museum visit and all visitors leave by this route, so you definitely don’t need to worry about missing it.