Vatican Museums

MVSEI VATICANI

VATICAN MUSEUM

Vatican City is an independent country surrounded by Italy, presided over by the Holy See (Catholic Church's jurisdiction), with its own leader (Pope), currency (Vatican-issued Euro) and security forces (Swiss Guards).  Inside the wall borders of Vatican City are the Vatican Museums. 

Founded by Pope Julius II in the 16th century, there are a total of 54 museums in the Vatican; the last one being the Sistine Chapel with Michelangelo's famous ceiling. The Vatican museums consist of 1400 rooms, chapels and galleries.  

St. Peter's Basilica and St. Peter's Square are the only parts of Vatican City that are situated just outside the wall borders. They are opened to the public for a free visit. 

The Pinecone Courtyard or Cortile della Pigna

Walking into Vatican's Pio-Clementino Museum that has one of the best collections of Greek and Roman statues.

 The Octagonal Courtyard 

 Apollo del Belvedere

Marble Greek sculpture from around the 1st century BCE. It was the first piece in the art collection of the Vatican that began the entire collection in the Vatican Museums. The sculpture portrays the god Apollo (Greek and Roman mythology) as an archer who just shot an arrow.

Ancient Roman statue of the Tigris river

 The Sala Rotonda is modelled after the Pantheon

Second Floor of the museum

The floor is amazing! It is made of tiny mosaics from around the 2nd century. Stunning designs. These mosaics used to decorate an ancient Roman villa.

 This giant porphyry basin was part of Nero's Golden House and was made of a single stone!

Hercules with club, lion skin and golden apples.

 

The ceiling

Ancient Roman statue of Bacchus 

Gallery of Statues

The Gallery of Tapestries

The ceiling is completely flat! Yupp...it is just an illusion of the 3D appearance, thanks to the genius of 18th century artists who learned how to trick minds and have skills to paint shadow and light on a 2D surface.

Galleria delle Carta Geografiche
The Gallery of Maps

SISTINE CHAPEL

Photography was not allowed in this chapel so the following photos are from Wikimedia Commons

Attribution: FSU Guy at English Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons)

Attribution: Antoine Taveneaux (Wikimedia Commons)