Bramante Staircase

Two staircases in the Vatican carry the name. The one visitors use is the double-helix ramp built by Giuseppe Momo in 1932 at the museum exit, two intertwined spirals so that people going down never meet people coming up, with a bronze balustrade winding the whole way. The original of 1505, by Bramante himself, is in the Belvedere and is not on the public route.

History

Donato Bramante built the original staircase in 1505 in a square tower of the Belvedere palace of Pope Innocent VIII, as a double helix with herringbone paving so that people and pack animals could go up and down without interruption, and with the five classical orders changing with each turn, from Tuscan at the base to Composite at the top; it is said to have let Pope Julius II reach his residence without leaving his carriage, and it inspired Antonio da Sangallo the Younger's well of San Patrizio at Orvieto. The modern staircase at the museum exit was designed by Giuseppe Momo, sculpted by Antonio Maraini and made by the Ferdinando Marinelli Artistic Foundry in 1932, in homage to the original, and some architecture professors have suggested it inspired Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim Museum in New York (Wikipedia, Bramante Staircase).

What's there

• The double helix - two spirals so up and down traffic never meet.
• The bronze balustrade - the rail winding the full height.
• The view down the well - the shot everyone stops to take.
• The 1932 date - a modern staircase named for a Renaissance architect.

When to go

November to March is the quietest window. The exit crowd is heaviest in the early afternoon. Closed on Sundays except the last of the month.

Things to know

It is at the exit, so you get one pass at it while everyone else is leaving too. The original Bramante staircase is not open to general visitors. Stopping to photograph blocks the flow and staff move people on.

Nearby

The museum entrance is north, and St Peter's Square is south.

Key facts