Bodies, fragments and the ancient world

Start at the Vatican Museums entrance on Viale Vaticano, then use the Pio Clementino signs after admission and security. What can a pose tell you when a sculpture has lost parts? This visit gives you time to follow a snake around Laocoön, compare Apollo's stance with Canova's Perseus, and read the surviving turn of the Belvedere Torso. The Octagonal Court brings ancient sculptures together with a later response to them. The Hall of Animals adds another set of bodies and subjects. In the Hall of the Muses, the Torso asks you to stay with the marble that survives before imagining its missing parts. The Round Hall closes the visit by turning attention towards the room built to present the collection. Allow roughly 75 to 110 minutes for the collection sequence, including looking, reading, walking and pauses. Entrance queues and the approach add time. Follow the current Pio Clementino signs and staff route between the named spaces. Ask for the itinerary without barriers if you need it. This selection stays with ordinary collection spaces, so use their signs when deciding your next room.