Only a small fraction of the treasures of the Catholic Church is available today for a public inspection in the museums of the Vatican. But every exhibit from this collection is priceless. The interior decoration of palaces, galleries and courtyards, where masterpieces of art of several millennia are exhibited, is unparalleled. And the Sistine Chapel is, without false pathos, the apotheosis of the creation of human hands on the path of serving high art.
BlogoItaliano previously wrote about Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel in the article TOP-10 ideas for what to see in the Vatican. However, then we touched these attractions in passing. Now is the time to tell us more about them.
Vatican Museums
The Vatican Museums have their official history since January 14, 1506, when during the excavations the ancient sculptural group Laocoon and His Sons, known from the descriptions of the Roman historian Pliny the Elder, was found.
Pope Julius II, known for his humanistic views and patronage of the arts, immediately redeemed this find, and Michelangelo himself assigned the work to restore it. A month later, the marble composition was brought into proper shape, and it was put up for public viewing.
Sculptural composition of Laocoon and his sons
At first, the apartments of Alexander VI Borgia were chosen to store the treasures, some of which were shown publicly from time to time. Moreover, for political and personal reasons, Julius II did not want to live in these walls. Dad moved to other rooms, which Raphael instructed to paint.
But, it can be said that it was thanks to all the same Borgia that the Vatican acquired another masterpiece. Famous Raphael's stanzas - this is precisely those 4 rooms that have become the residence of Julius II. By the way, the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican was originally issued just in time for the conclave, who elected Rodrigo Borgia as pope: fate sometimes presents very unexpected surprises.
Plan of the Vatican Museums
Over time, other masterpieces from the Vatican collections became available to the general public. For this, in the XVIII-XX centuries. Many buildings of the Vatican, galleries and courtyards were rebuilt and erected.
Almost all museums were conditionally combined into one common exposition. The chic halls are connected by numerous galleries flowing smoothly from one to another. And if in our days tourists along the entire kilometer-long excursion route were not guided by signs and brave Swiss, it would be difficult to understand where one museum ends and another begins.
Consider the most famous Vatican museums in more detail.
Vatican Pinacoteca
The Pinacoteca is famous for the works of religious painting by Italian masters of the 12th-19th centuries. Here you can see the works of Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Titian, Caravaggio, Reni, Poussin and other famous masters of painting. In addition to the great paintings, you can admire sculptural masterpieces, tapestries, icons and mosaics.
Masterpieces of religious painting in the Vatican Pinakothek
Pio Cristiano Museum
The museum houses works of art of early Christianity. The basis for the museum was the finds from Roman catacombs, so the exposition has many tombstones, sarcophagi and relief sculptures. The pearl of the collection is the sarcophagus of 330 g, decorated with scenes from the Old and New Testaments.
Ethnological Missionary Museum
Here tourists can get acquainted with religious objects of different countries. The museum contains more than 100,000 exhibits from around the world.
Gregorian Egyptian Museum
From the name it is already clear that the basis of the museum’s exposition is the works of art of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia: sculptures of the pharaohs, ancient mummies in sarcophagi, papyri, etc.
Ancient Egyptian mask in the Vatican Museums
Museum of Pius Clement
The 8 rooms in the Belvedere Palace are occupied by the Pius Clement Museum, where you can get acquainted with the sculptural masterpieces of prominent Roman and Greek masters.
Gregorian Etruscan Museum
The collection is based on finds from the excavations of the Etruscan necropolis near Cerveteri. Here you can see numerous household items of ancient Etruscans, ceramics, precious metal products, the earliest of which dates back to the 4th century. BC.
Chiaramonti Museum
The Chiaramonti Museum, as well as the Pius Clement Museum, is dedicated to antique sculpture of ancient Greece and ancient Rome.
Historical Museum
The History Museum, also known as the Carriage Museum, introduces the history of the Roman popes' vehicles. The museum collection contains numerous carriages, cars, saddles, palanquins and even a model of the first locomotive of the Pope.
Apartments Borgia
The personal apartments of Pope Alexander VI Borgia date back to the late 15th century. The design of the walls and ceilings in the Papal apartments was entrusted to the famous master of his time, Bernardino Pinturicchio. Later, already in the XIX century. on the premises began to store works of art exported from Rome by Napoleon Bonaparte.
Rafael Stanzas and Loggias
Pinturicchio’s work is replaced by the famous Rafael Stanzas - 4 rooms painted by a young master. Also, Raphael and his students worked on the murals of loggias, later called Raphael's loggia.
Rafael's stanzas. Vatican Museums
Galleries of the Vatican Museums
Numerous museums are interconnected by magnificent galleries, among them the most famous: the gallery of candelabra, tapestries, geographical maps and the gallery of modern religious art.
The exposition of museums is so diverse that the impressions of their visit will definitely last a long time. Well, “for dessert” hungry for art tourists waiting for the ingenious creation of Michelangelo - The Sistine Chapel.
Sistine Chapel: from wall to ceiling
The Sistine Chapel is not just a former house church, where the conclave has been gathering since 1482 to elect a new Pope. This is a true masterpiece of the High Renaissance, silently testifying to the greatness of human genius, inspired from above. It is this idea that underlies the unified plot of the chapel painting. Every day, except weekends and holidays, more than 10,000 people visit it to see the beautiful frescoes of Botticelli, Perugino, Ghirlandaio and Michelangelo.
The Sistine Chapel was erected in 1473-81. commissioned by Pope Sixtus IV, from where, in fact, received such a name. By 1482, the chapel painting was completed. But already in 1508, Pope Julius II called Michelangelo from Florence to re-paint the ceiling (4093 × 1341 cm).
Almost all the work was done by the master alone: for this, Michelangelo had to work in poor lighting conditions, throwing his head high for more than 4 years, but the customer liked the result.
Sistine Chapel: The Last Judgment Fresco
When Pope Leo X (1514-1519) Sistine Chapel in the Vatican became even more beautiful: its lower tier was decorated with tapestries according to Raphael's sketches. Just the very ones that are currently on display at the Arazzi Gallery. They were transferred to the gallery in 1838 for better preservation, and in their place trellises are again painted, which are less sensitive to external influences. Along the walls there are even benches for sightseers who want to combine a minute rest and a meeting with the beautiful.
Sistine Chapel: The Last Judgment
A quarter of a century after the completion of the decoration of the ceiling, Michelangelo was again called to Rome: he was instructed to re-paint the altar wall. So there was unprecedented in scale and semantic fullness fresco "The Last Judgment"plot completion of the chapel. The "swirling" composition and content merged together: the righteous, saying prayers in front of the altar, rush to Christ, sinners are cast into hell.
The fresco caused bewilderment and sharp criticism from many ministers of the church. After the death of Michelangelo, the “overly exposed” parts of the body of many figures were bashfully draped with designs that mimic the fabric. This painstaking "work" continued until the 19th century. During the last restoration, which ended by 1999, only drapes of the 16th century were left.
Access to the Vatican Museums is open from 9am to 13.30-16.00
When examining the chapel, you can focus on separate scenes illustrating the Old and New Testaments, but it is better to immediately try to perceive all the murals as a single plot: from Creation to the Last Judgment. Then a complete picture will be drawn up depicting the whole history of mankind from the point of view of Christian doctrine.
Museums Address: Viale Vaticano
- You can get here:
- Metro: Line A, stations Ottaviano and Cipro, from both stations you need to walk about 10 minutes on foot.
- By bus:№49 - stop opposite the entrance to the Vatican Museums№№32, 81, 982 - stop Piazza Del Risorgimento№№492, 990 - stops Via Leone IV / Via Degli Scipioni
- By tram: No.19, stop Piazza Del Risorgimento
Opening hours Museums and the Chapel can be viewed in this article.
Tickets to the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel
The only problem that a tourist who has decided to see priceless exhibits from the papal treasury and the world-famous painting of the Sistine Chapel may arise is long lines of people who want to buy tickets to the Vatican Museums.
Given that access opens at 9 am, and visitors are allowed into the territory, depending on the day of the week, until 13: 00-16: 00 (1-2 hours before closing), it’s a pleasure to lose precious 3-4 hours, moving forward to the checkout, it seems very doubtful. In addition, the forces to inspect the museums, after standing in lines, may already not be enough. About how the line looks live and how to get around it, BlogoItaliano shot a separate video in the Vatican:
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Entrance to museums is free on the last Sunday of each month. But you should not relax. Firstly, in order to plan your trip to Rome so well, you need to try very hard. Secondly, the line of those who want to go inside is free three times longer than usual. Thirdly, museums work on an abbreviated schedule that day, and visitors stop running inside at 12:30.
If "Sunday" coincides with a great church holiday, a free trip to the Vatican museums can be safely canceled.
Today tickets to the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel can be bought online
But if the Pope himself actively uses Twitter, it would be surprising if tickets to the Vatican Museums were not distributed online. You can specify the current price and book them here at any convenient day.
By the way, through the Internet you can buy tickets not only to the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museums, but also to other popular sights of Rome. More about this in our article Interesting Places in Rome to Buy Tickets Online.
