Spend time with the Pinacoteca

Begin outside the Vatican Museums entrance on Viale Vaticano. How does a painted story change from a gold-ground altar to Caravaggio? After admission and security, follow the Pinacoteca signs and room labels to Room II. The Stefaneschi Triptych begins this visit with a painting made for old St Peter's. In Room VIII, compare Raphael's Crowning of the Virgin, Madonna of Foligno and Transfiguration. Each was made for a different altar. Their people gather around a tomb, kneel in thanks or confront a child's distress. Room IX brings you to Leonardo's unfinished St Jerome, where drawing and paint remain at different stages. Caravaggio's Deposition in Room XII closes the six-work sequence with the weight of a body carried towards a stone. Allow roughly 90 to 120 minutes for looking, reading and moving through the painting gallery, with additional time for entrance queues and the approach. Use the room signs between stops. In Room VIII, identify each painting by its title and subject. Spend the change of attention looking at another work in the same room before continuing towards Leonardo.