I looked at the Vatican.va web site but it seems they haven’t updated the closed dates.

Where did you get the information from? It sounds reasonable, although I wouldn’t be surprised if the Vatican Museums were shut completely during conclave – not just the Sistine Chapel.

I think the earliest conclave can start is 10 days after the pope’s death (not sure if that’s the date it will start for sure).

I hope it works out for you. I know it would be disappointing to go to Rome and not be able to go to the Vatican, despite all the other wonderful places there are to see there.

Thanks, Traveller!

My two priorities in Rome are the St. Peter Basilica and the Sistine Chapel. It’s ok for me to go into the Basilica.

Anybody at Rome right now or knows for sure what to expect?

I’m not IN rome at the moment, but i’ve been doing some research b/c I’m planning on being there early May and wanted to see what would be open or closed.

I don’t really know the status of the other Vatican museums either, but the Sistine Chapel will definitely be closed while you are there….the conclave can only begin 15-20 days after the pope passes. It will probably begin on the 15th day, I think they are anxious. It probably won’t last any longer than 3 days. So we’re looking at the conclave beginning 4/17 and lasting at the most throughout that week.

So maybe you will have a chance to see everything while you are there…don’t lose hope! =) Mourning ends the 12th, conclave beings the 17th — you may have a good open window. Even if you aren’t able to get into the museums, you’ll always have the memory of being in Rome during a very rare, interesting, and captivating time. Good luck!

Here’s a copy of a post I saw on Fodors:

"My friend at the Vatican just emailed me this morning and he said that Museums and Scavi will be closed during the Pope’s funeral and during Conclave. He said it is currently up in the air as to whether they will be active in the time between the funeral and Conclave – it will most likely be a decision made nearer the date as they will need time to figure out the time needed to prepare the Sistine, security et al. Vatican City will be closed during the time of Conclave. (He intimated that Conclave was rumored to begin the 17th or 18th)

He said there would be daily postings of the closings and happenings in English on this site:
http://www.whatsonin…
"

I read the following on selectitaly.com:

As of 5 April, 2005 the Vatican Museums have indicated that while they will be open and offering tours during the Conclave, the Sistine Chapel will be closed from April 7 until further notice. The Vatican Museums will be closed Friday, April 8, for the Papal Funeral.

Good luck even getting into the square…looks to me like the vatican and the whole city of Rome will be packed out for a week or so…then it will take a while to get all those ppl outta there…

Take a look at the http://www.slowtalk.com message board: somebody posted the details of what will be or won’t be open in a thread about the Pope’s death.

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