One of the biggest and most impressive art collection in the world, Vatican museums consist of several different museums and galleries with masterpieces collected by the popes, who opened their palaces to the public promoting knowledge of art history and culture.
the Creation of Adam
The idea started from the group of sculptures collected by Pope Julius II (1503-1513) and placed in what today is Belvedere Palace with the Octagonal Court.
His successors continued to gather Greek,Roman and Christian antiquities. You can see them in Chiaromonti Museum, and Pius-Clementine Museum, which displays famous Laocoon Group, the sculpture from Rhodes depicting moment of death of Apollo’s priest with his two sons in the crushes of serpents.
There are also separate exhibitions devoted to Egyptian funerary art, and Etruscan artifacts from tombs excavated in southern Etruria.
The long loggia connecting Etruscan Museum with Rafael Stanze is filled with art galleries, Candelabra Gallery, Galleria di Arazzi with 16th century tapestries and Map Gallery.
Worth mention are also the Immaculate Conception Rooms and the hall with the enormous painting depicting victory of Polish king Sobieski at Vienna ( 1683) .
At the turning of 16th century the Popes commissioned the decoration of their rooms to great Renaissance artists, among them were Sodoma, Perugino and Raphael, whose frescoes gave the name for the palace wing – Raphael Rooms.
The frescoes show the greatest moments in the history of contemporary church like battle of Ostia, or coronation of Charlemagne.
The library ( Signature Room ) shows Saints, Popes and Doctors of the Church in ‘Dispute over Blessed Sacrament‘.
Among the other scenes one can find the figures from the Old Testimony like Maccabees and the modern church Saints protecting the Popes in their terrestial duties.
Noticeable here is painting ‘St.Peter delivered from the prison‘, which introduces the new use of light sources not existing in the history of art before Raphael.
In Vatican Raphael has probably only one other competitor – Michelangelo.
The famous Sistine Chapel has been built for the Pope Sixtus IV and today hosts the most solemn ceremonis of the Holy See, including conclave of cardinals, who vote for the new Pope.
The Bible story on the ceiling starts from the very beginning, the division of light from darkness, followed by creation of sun, planets and the first humans, later expulsed from the Garden of Eden.
On the side walls there are Noah, Moses and other prophet’s whose life lead to the birth and Crucifiction of Jesus, shown on the opposite side.
Last Judgement -the fresco surrounding the main altar is another masterpiece of Michelangelo finished some 20 years after the ceiling.
The other parts of Vatican Museums include Biblioteca Apostolica, Pinacoteca ( Picture Gallery ) Gregorian Profane and Christian Museums.
It is better to carefully plan your steps in the Holy See prior to your visit,
booking the tickets in advance saves the queuing time ( quite long during the tourist high season), and you can consider joining the tour, where the professional guide helps you with choosing the most valuable items from the collection to experience.
More about the tours of Vatican.
You may also check Rome Tours.
[photo courtesy of Janus.]