Vatican museums

The Vatican Museums, located within the Vatican City, represent one of the most important and visited museum complexes in the world. Founded by Pope Julius II in the 16th century, the museums house a vast collection of artworks collected by the popes over the centuries. The collection ranges from classical antiquity to the Renaissance, to contemporary art, offering visitors a fascinating journey through the history of art. The visit to the Vatican Museums often begins in the Courtyard of the Pinecone, dominated by a gigantic bronze pinecone dating back to Roman times. This sculpture, four meters high, once adorned the center of the Pinecone Fountain, located in Campo Marzio. Today, the courtyard serves as a gathering point for visitors before starting the exploration of the internal galleries.One of the first places you encounter is the Pio-Clementino Museum, which houses an extraordinary collection of ancient sculptures. Among the most famous works is the Laocoön, a marble sculpture dating back to the 1st century AD, depicting the Trojan priest Laocoön and his sons being strangled by sea serpents sent by the gods. The drama and anatomical precision of the sculpture are impressive and immediately capture the attention of visitors.Continuing on, you arrive at the Gallery of Maps, a long corridor decorated with frescoed maps representing the different regions of Italy. Created between 1580 and 1585 under the direction of Pope Gregory XIII, these maps are not only works of art but also historical documents showing the evolution of cartography in the 16th century.One of the most famous sections of the Vatican Museums is the Sistine Chapel, frescoed by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512. The chapel’s ceiling, with its famous “Last Judgment,” is one of the absolute masterpieces of the Renaissance. The depiction of Adam touching the hand of God has become a universal icon of Western art. The Sistine Chapel is not only a place of extraordinary artistic beauty but also a place of great religious significance, being the venue for the conclave, the assembly of cardinals that elects the new pope.Another must-see stop is the Egyptian Museum, which houses a vast collection of artifacts from ancient Egypt. Among the works on display are statues of pharaohs, sarcophagi, mummies, and everyday objects that offer a glimpse into the life and religious beliefs of ancient Egypt. This section of the museum was created in the 19th century by Pope Gregory XVI, a great lover of archaeology.The Vatican Museums also include the Pinacoteca, which houses a collection of paintings ranging from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. Among the most important works are Raphael’s “Transfiguration,” considered his last masterpiece, and Caravaggio’s “Deposition of Christ,” a work of intense drama and realism. The Pinacoteca offers a broad overview of the evolution of Italian painting, with works by artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, and Giovanni Bellini.Another section of great interest is the Gregorian Etruscan Museum, founded by Pope Gregory XVI in 1837. The museum houses a vast collection of Etruscan art, including cinerary urns, votive bronzes, and goldsmith objects. Among the most precious pieces is the “Sarcophagus of the Spouses,” a funerary sculpture depicting a couple lying on a banquet bed, a rare example of Etruscan artistic refinement.The Vatican Museums also include the Gregorian Profane Museum, which exhibits sculptures and reliefs from the Roman era, and the Chiaramonti Museum, founded by Pope Pius VII Chiaramonti, which houses a vast collection of Roman statues, reliefs, and sarcophagi. This museum is particularly known for the Chiaramonti Gallery, a long corridor adorned with numerous ancient statues illustrating the mastery of Roman sculptors.