Vatican. A recollection of a visit to the museums

 I recently looked through my archive photos of the Vatican, remembered and decided to tell about the Vatican Museums.

The Vatican Museums are a monument of world culture. What began as a small collection of sculptures has grown over time into the largest museum complex. It should be noted that you cannot get into the museums just by coming to the opening. All those who wish to order and buy tickets in advance and for a specific day and time. I ordered tickets and was looking forward to the day of the visit.

 

The Vatican Museums were founded in the 18th century and later opened opened art collections to the public with the aim of cultural education of the people.

Entrance to the museums

 

Gardens of Vatican

I began my visit to the Vatican Museums by exploring the extensive collection of Greek and Roman ancient art. Among the most famous sculptures are the statues of Laocoon, Apollo. Most of the statues were found in Rome or its surroundings. The Hall of the Muses (Sala delle Muse) is decorated with frescoes depicting Apollo and the Muses. There are several sculptures of the Muses, their leader Apollo, Athena, Hermes, and just human figures.

 

 

Nearby is the Round Hall (Sala Rotonda). Its floor is covered with Roman mosaics from the early 3rd century AD depicting sea, moon, sun and mythical heroes.

I liked the Gallery of Statues (Galleria delle Statue) with the enchanting sculpture of Sleeping Arianna (Arianna Addormentata). Because of the snake-shaped decoration on her arm, many believed that this was Cleopatra, who committed suicide by letting herself be bitten by a viper. However, in 700, she was recognized as Arianna, princess of Crete and daughter of King Minos, who slept on the island of Nassau.

The western wing of the museum is occupied by three galleries.
The long gallery, about 300 m long, was designed by Bramante in 1507 and decorated by Antonio Canova. 

Here is the Vatican Picture Gallery (Pinacoteca Vaticana). Paintings from the 12th to the 19th centuries hang in 16 rooms. Most of them are works by Italian masters. Pictures of interest are by Da Vinci, by Titian, Federico Barocci, Caravaggio.

 
Here is also the Gallery of Candelabra (Galleria dei Candelabri) - about 80 m long, decorated with Greek and Roman sculptures.
The second is the Gallery of Tapestries (Galleria degli Arazzi) with tapestries from the 17th century. 

 

There are also tapestries made in Brussels based on sketches by Raphael and his students.

 

 

Another gallery, 175 m, is the Gallery of Geographical Maps (Galleria delle Carte Geografiche). The walls of this gallery are covered with large drawings of maps created by Antonio Danti in 1580-1583. The maps depicted cities in Italy, islands in the Mediterranean, and papal territories. Unfortunately, I did not quite understand the maps on the walls, as the outlines of the continents did not correspond to reality.

As I walked through these galleries, I kept looking up to see the scenes of the frescoes on the ceiling, the paintings on the walls telling the events that took place in those days.

Raphael's Rooms (Stanze di Raffaello).

The Raphael Rooms (Stanze di Raffaello) display paintings that he worked on from 1512 onward. When Raphael died in 1520, he was only 37 years old, without having completed the painting of the papal apartments; his students completed the work based on his drawings. These frescoes are considered absolute masterpieces of Renaissance art.

 

I finished my acquaintance with the Vatican Museums in St. Peter's Basilica. This is a majestic cathedral, is a major pilgrimage site. Frequently drawing crowds of tens of thousands of Catholics, both the basilica and its adjoining St. Peter’s Square are used for a number of liturgies presided over by the pope throughout the year. 

 

I will talk you about St. Peter's Basilica in another post.

All the best, my friends.