MUSEUMS

Sistine Chapel

Built by Pope Sixtus IV in 1473-84, the Sistine Chapel is a rectangular hall, which is the Pope’s domestic chapel, also used for services and special occasions. After the death of a Pope, the conclave to elect his successor is held here. The frescoes by Michelangelo and others covering the walls and ceiling, acknowledged as the pinnacle of Renaissance painting, were extensively restored from 1980 to 1994, removing layers of candle-soot, dust, varnish, grease, and overpainting to reveal their original luminous colors. The side walls are covered with large frescoes of Biblical scenes against the background of Umbrian and Tuscan scenery, painted for Sixtus IV by the most celebrated painters of the day – Perugino, Botticelli, Rosselli, Pinturicchio, Signorelli, and Ghirlandaio. These late-15th-century paintings already reflect the ideas of humanism, recognizing humans as individuals and important in the historical process. The left-hand wall shows Old Testament scenes; the right wall New Testament scenes.

Vatican Palace Highlights – the Raphael Rooms, Appartamento Borgia, and Cappella Niccolina

These rooms, commissioned for the Palace of the Vatican’s papal apartments by the art-loving Pope Julius II and later by Pope Leo X, are covered with a magnificent series of frescoes by Raphael. In re-discovering the traditions of historical painting, Raphael began an art tradition that was to be followed for centuries. In each of the scenes, he uses a classical symmetry in the composition, positioning the characters in perspective around a central focal point. While some scenes were painted by students or other great artists after his death, the Stanza della Segnatura and the Stanza di Eliodoro were both painted by Raphael himself, as were those in the Sala della Segnatura. Completed between 1508 and 1511, these works and those in the Sistine Chapel represent the supreme achievement of Renaissance painting. The paintings convey that period’s culture in all its splendor and show humanist themes – the natural sciences attainable without divine revelation, philosophy, history, mathematics, civil law, and justice.

Pinacoteca (Picture Gallery)

Even though it was robbed of many of its treasures by Napoleon, the Pinacoteca contains 16 rooms of priceless art from the Middle Ages to contemporary works. Arranged in chronological order, the pictures give an excellent survey of the development of Western painting. Medieval art includes Byzantine, Sienese, Umbrian, and Tuscan paintings, as well as a Giotto triptych and a Madonna and St. Nicholas of Bari by Fra Angelico. There is a triptych by Filippo Lippi, Coronation of the Virgin by Pinturicchio, and a Madonna by Perugino. A room is devoted to tapestries from cartoons by Raphael; his Madonna of Foligno; and his last painting, the famous 1517 Transfiguration. Portraits include da Vinci’s unfinished St. Jerome, a Titian Madonna, and Caravaggio’s Entombment.

Museo Pio Clementino

The Vatican Museums have the largest collection of ancient sculpture in the world, mainly found in Rome and the surrounding areas, most of it displayed in the systematic arrangement designed by Popes Clement XIV and Pius VI from 1769 to 1799. These galleries contain such a wealth of magnificent and significant pieces that even a list of the highlights is a long one. In the Sala a Croce Greca, don’t miss the red porphyry sarcophagi of Constantine’s daughter, Constantia, and his mother, St. Helen, both richly decorated with figures and symbols. In the Sala delle Muse look for Belvedere Torso, a first-century-BC work by Apollonius of Athens that was admired by Michelangelo. In the Gabinetto delle Maschere is a mosaic floor of theatrical masks from the Villa Adriana in Tivoli. In the Cortile del Belvedere is one of the most famous statues in the Vatican – the Apollo Belvedere. In the Galleria delle Statue notice the Candelabri Barberini,the finest ancient candelabras known, also from the Villa Adriana at Tivoli. Galleria dei Busti contains, along with lunette frescoes by Pinturicchio, the celebrated Laocoön group, a masterpiece of Hellenistic sculpture showing the Trojan priest Laocoön and his sons in a mortal struggle with two huge snakes.

Etruscan Museum

The Etruscan Museum, founded by Pope Gregory XVI in the mid-19th century, has 18 rooms of artifacts, which shed new light on the life of the Etruscans and their idea of the afterlife. Among the findings from the Etruscan graves that have been excavated throughout Tuscany are not just funerary items, but art works and objects from the everyday life of these enigmatic people. Particularly outstanding are the grave goods found in the Regolini-Galassi tomb at Cerveteri, the Mars of Todi, a head of Athena, and a number of very fine Etruscan vases.

Egyptian Museum

The Egyptian Museum in the Cortile della Pigna was re-founded in 1839 by Pope Gregory XVI, the first collection having been assembled earlier by Pius VIII. Much of the collection was brought from the Villa Adriana in Tivoli, where they had been collected by the Emperor Hadrian. Supplementing Hadrian’s collections are artifacts assembled by 19th-century collectors. The compilation here isn’t large, but its nine rooms exhibit some fine examples of Egyptian art from the third millennium to the sixth century BC. Highlights include basalt and wooden sarcophagi, sculptures of gods and pharaohs, bronzes, mummified heads, stelae with hieroglyphic inscriptions, statues of gods and animals, and papyri. In the last two rooms, you’ll find art from ancient Mesopotamia, vases and bronzes from Syria, and reliefs from Assyrian palaces.

Museo Chiaramonti

The Museo Chiaramonti, founded by Pope Pius VII in the early 19th century, is housed in a long gallery leading to the Papal palace and in the Braccio Nuovo. Concentrating on works of Greek and Roman art, the museum includes a number of Roman copies of earlier works by some of the most famous Greek sculptors, the only record of them that survives. Among the highlights of the thousand-odd sculptures, friezes, and reliefs are the Augustus of Prima Porta, a statue of the emperor found in the villa of his wife Livia; a statue of the god of the Nile; and Spear Carrier, a copy of the work by Polycletus. In the Sala della Biga, near the entrance, are two Discus Throwers, copies of fifth-century-BC works. A funeral monument of a miller dating from the first century was found at Ostia, and two splendid gilded bronze peacocks are thought to have come from Hadrian’s Mausoleum.

MARKETS

Vatican City Shopping

The world’s smallest state, Vatican City is the headquarters of the Catholic church. You can buy all things from books to stamps to rosaries to posters. Vatican City has several places to shop within the walls of this tiny nation. Look for the post office, pharmacy and museum gift shop.

The Post Office

Vatican City has a post office. Head here to mail a letter or a postcard to your friends they’ll cherish. You can also buy many different kinds of stamps including ones with the current pope’s face.

The Vatican Book Store

The book store offers books with a Catholic theme. This is the place to go for bibles translated into many different languages and textbooks on Catholic doctrine. It’s also where you’ll find religious fiction and books on the history of Catholicism.

The Vatican Museum Shop

The Vatican is home to many important buildings. Many people choose to tour the Vatican Museum. This is where to go to see acres of religious art treasures. As you exit the museum, you’ll notice a large shop. You can buy many kinds of items in the store. This is the place to get an elaborate rosary made from precious stones and other religious objects. You can also find items like paperweights and reproductions of many famous Vatican City paintings.

PARKS

Gardens of Vatican City

The Gardens of Vatican City (Latin: Horti Civitatis Vaticanae), also informally known as the Vatican Gardens (Italian: Giardini Vaticani) in Vatican City, are private urban gardens and parks which cover more than half of the country, located in the west of the territory and owned by the Pope. There are some buildings, such as Radio Vatican and the Governor’s Palace, within the gardens. The gardens cover approximately 23 hectares (57 acres) which is most of the Vatican Hill. The highest point is 60 metres (200 ft) above mean sea level. Stone walls bound the area in the North, South and West. The gardens and parks were established during the Renaissance and Baroque era and are decorated with fountains and sculptures.