Vatican Museums
Holocaust survivor Fanny Amar wearing a face mask amid the coronavirus holds a rose as she and others attend the yearly Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony in Haifa, Israel, Thursday, April 8, 2021. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
The Latest: US 7th Fleet: 14,000 personnel fully vaccinated

By The Associated Press Apr. 08, 2021 01:26 AM EDT

FILE - Cardinals listen as Pope Francis, background, delivers his Christmas greetings to the Roman Curia, in the Clementine Hall at the Vatican, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2019. Pope Francis has ordered pay cuts for Holy See employees, including slashing cardinals’ salaries by 10%. Francis in a letter made public by the Vatican on Wednesday, March 24, 2021, noted that the pandemic emergency “negatively impacted all sources of revenue” for the Holy See and Vatican City State. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)
Pope, citing pandemic effect, cuts pay for cardinals, others

By Frances D'emilio Mar. 24, 2021 10:35 AM EDT

Gianni Crea, the Vatican Museums chief "Clavigero" key-keeper, walks past the Laocoon statue, a masterpiece of the sculptors of Rhodes dated around 40-30 B.C., on his way to open the museum's rooms and sections, at the Vatican, Monday, Feb. 1, 2021. Crea is the “clavigero” of the Vatican Museums, the chief key-keeper whose job begins each morning at 5 a.m., opening the doors and turning on the lights through 7 kilometers of one of the world's greatest collections of art and antiquities. The Associated Press followed Crea on his rounds the first day the museum reopened to the public, joining him in the underground “bunker” where the 2,797 keys to the Vatican treasures are kept in wall safes overnight. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
AP PHOTOS: Sistine Chapel key-keeper opens up after lockdown

By Paolo Lucariello And Elisa Colella Feb. 07, 2021 03:47 AM EST

One of the famous Rome's cats passes by, as a concert for the reopening of ancient Colosseum is being presented Monday, Feb. 1, 2021, in a partial lifting of restriction measures aimed at containing the spread of COVID-19. Italy has eased its coronavirus restrictions Monday for most of the country downgrading Lazio and other regions from medium-risk orange zones to lower-risk yellow zones. (Cecilia Fabiano /LaPresse via AP)
Small pleasures as Italy reopens after Christmas lockdowns

By Trisha Thomas And Elisa Colella Feb. 01, 2021 11:52 AM EST

Visitors admire the marble sculpture "The Piety", made in 1499 by Italian sculptor Michelangelo Buonarroti, inside St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, Monday, Dec. 14, 2020. Like elsewhere in Europe, museums and art galleries in Italy were closed this fall to contain the spread of COVID-19, meaning art lovers must rely on virtual tours to catch a glimpse of the treasures held by famous institutions such as the Uffizi in Florence and the Vatican Museums in Rome. However, some exquisite gems of Italy's cultural heritage remain on display in real life inside the country's churches, some of which have collections of renaissance art and iconography that would be the envy of any museum. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
AP PHOTOS: Rome churches beckon with art and no 'hordes'

By Beatrice Larco Dec. 30, 2020 03:40 AM EST

Visitors arrive on the reopening day of the Uffizi museum, in Florence, Italy, Wednesday, June 3, 2020. The Uffizi museum reopened to the public after over two months of closure due to coronavirus restrictions. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
No crowds delight art lovers in Italy at reopened museums

By Trisha Thomas And Frances D'emilio Jun. 03, 2020 12:01 PM EDT

Vatican Museum director Barbara Jatta poses in the Costantino Hall, with frescoes by Italian Renaissance artist Raphael as the Vatican Museum reopened, in Rome, Monday, June 1, 2020. The Vatican Museums reopened Monday to visitors after three months of shutdown following COVID-19 containment measures. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
'Welcome Back!' Several famed museums reopen across Europe

By Raf Casert And Peter Dejong Jun. 01, 2020 01:26 PM EDT

Pope Francis delivers his blessing from his studio window overlooking St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, May 31, 2020. Francis celebrated a Pentecost Mass in St. Peter's Basilica on Sunday, albeit without members of the public in attendance. He will then went to his studio window to recite his blessing at noon to the crowds below. The Vatican says police will ensure the faithful gathered in the piazza keep an appropriate distance apart. (Vatican News via AP)
Vatican centralizes contracting to cut waste, corruption

By Nicole Winfield Jun. 01, 2020 06:54 AM EDT

In this drone aerial photo provided by the Florida Keys News Bureau, traffic flows on the Florida Keys Overseas Highway in Islamorada, Fla., towards Key West Monday, June 1, 2020. After being closed to visitors since March 22, 2020, to help curtail the spread of COVID-19, the Florida Keys reopened to tourists Monday. Tourism employs about 45 percent of the Keys workforce. (Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau via AP)
Sobering US nursing home death report as lockdowns ease

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar And Curt Anderson Jun. 01, 2020 01:14 AM EDT