IMG_0450
IMG_0451 - The Bramante Staircase was for people and pack animals, e.g. the pope in his heavy robes, in a carriage.
IMG_0452 - View up. The spiral ramp from outside up to the papal apartments.
IMG_0453 - Down. It was designed by Donato Bramante in 1506 and completed in 1584.
IMG_0454 - The travertine capitols of the columns change from Tuscan, to Doric, to Ionic as you go up the ramp.
IMG_0455 - Windows light the ramp.
IMG_0457 - Rome from the Bramante Staircase.
IMG_0461 - An exit part way up.
IMG_0462 - Views of Rome from the Bramante Staircase.
IMG_0464
IMG_0465 - Before AD 64, Vatican Hill was occupied by the Circus of Nero, villas, and various religious structures.
IMG_0466 - The top exit. The ramp is in a square tower, on the north-east corner of the Vatican Museums.