the vatican museums are located on viale vaticano, inside the vatican city state. they were founded by pope julius ii in 1506 and opened to the public in 1771 by order of pope clement xiv. they occupy most of the vast courtyard of the belvedere and house collections of inestimable value to humanity. it is there that an enormous collection of works of art accumulated over the centuries is displayed. the sistine chapel (built between 1477 and 1480) and the papal apartments with frescoes by michelangelo and raphael are among the works that visitors can admire there.