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They
represent the greatest collection of antiques in the world.
You can admire works of extraordinary artistic interest
through 7 kilometres. To reach their new entrance,
inaugurated by the Pope the 7th of February 2000, starting
from "Piazza S. Pietro" you can go to "Piazza Risorgimento"
through the right arcade, then you can pass through "via
Leone IV" and "viale Vaticano". This new entrance consists
of a great helicoidal ramp,165 metres high, recalling the
Louvre's pyramid, and has the aim of forming one-way only to
avoid slowings and queues. The Vatican Museums are expanding
on four levels and on an area of 10.000 square metres. The
first works, which are kept here, date back to the
Renaissance; since then on, Popes continued and completed to
gather and to select the greatest treasures of art. They are
divided in several sections. You can start from the Egyptian
museum, which occupies ten rooms, then you can see the
Chiaramonti museum, where about one thousand Greek and Roman
sculptures are shwed.In the lapidary gallery there are
thousands of inscriptions which make in the richest one in
the world. In the Pio Clementino museum, besides numerous
Roman sculptures, which are copies of famous Greek original
ones, like the Laocoonte, you can admire the bronze
"Amazzone ferita" and some works by A. Canova, like the
"Perseo". The Etruscan museum keeps objects coming from
Etruria excavations and private donations in addition to
Roman works and a collection of Greek vases. Among the most
remarkable pieces there are those coming from the famous
Cerveteri tomb. The Raffaello's rooms are a fixed stop in
the Vatican Museums: they are so called because keep
frescoes by the famous artist. In the room of the Segnatura,
which was the Giulio II's study, you can find the "Disputa
del SS. Sacramento", the "Scuola di Atene" and the
"Parnaso". In the Constantine's room there are some frescoes
by Master's pupils. Going on, you can see the Raffaello's
loggia decorated with scenes of the Old and New Testament;
it was begun by Bramante and completed by Raffaello. A
little bit further, there are Chiaroscuri's room, the
ceiling of which is decorated with Raffaello's designs, the
Nicolina Chapel with frescoes by Beato Angelico and the
Borgia's flat decorated nearly in full by Pinturicchio's
frescoes. The collection of modern religious art occupies 55
rooms and consists of about 800 paintings and religious
sculptures. The Sistina Chapel, recently restored, was
completed in 1480. You can admire, on its left side, scenes
of Mos�'s life, and, on its right side, scenes of Christ's
life. Its vault was decorated by Michelangelo who painted
also the famous "Giudizio Universale" on the main wall. |