The Vatican`s greatest treasures are its Greek and Roman antiquities, which have been on display since the 18th century. The 19th century saw the addition of exciting discoveries from Etruscan tombs and excavations in Egypt. Then there are works by many of Italy`s greatest Renaissance artists housed in the Pinacoteca (art gallery) and decorating the walls of chapels and papal apartments.
The Egyptian collection contains finds from 19th and 20th century excavations, as well as items brought from Rome in Imperial times. There are also Roman imitations of Egyptian art. Genuine Egyptian works include the tomb of Iri, guardian of the Pyramid of Cheops (22nd century BC).
The Chiaramonti Museum is lined with ancient busts and its extension, the Bracco Nuovo, has a 1st century BC statue of Emperor Augustus.
The Etruscan Museum houses a superb collection, including the bronze throne, bed, and funeral cart, found in the 650 BC Regolini-Galassi tomb in Cerveteri.
In the Vatican Library is the Aldobrandini Wedding, a beautiful Roman fresco from the 1st century AD. The Pio-Christian Museum has Early Christian art, such as inscriptions and sculpture from catacombs and basilicas. The first two rooms of the Pinacoteca house medieval art, including Giotto`s Stefaneschi Triptych, which decorated the main altar of the old St. Peter`s. Other rooms in the Pinacoteca contain Renaissance works. 15th-century highlights are a Pieta by Giovanni Bellini and Leonardo da Vinci`s unfinished St. Jerome. Exceptional 16th-century pieces include an altarpiece by Titian, a Depositian by Caravaggio, St. Helen by Paolo Veronese, and a whole room devoted to Raphael.
The Sistine Chapel takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV: it was built in 1473 at his request. The walls were frescoed by some of the finest artists of the age, including Signorelli, Botticelli, Roselli. There are 12 frescoes on the side walls, painted between 1481 and 1483. Their subjects are parallel episodes on the lives of Moses and Christ.
In 1508-12 at the request of Pope Julius II, Michelangelo created what has become his most famous work, the chapel ceiling. The main panels chart the Creation of the World and Fall of Man. They are surrounded by subjects from the Old and New Testaments. In 1534-41 Michelangelo completed the chapel walls, painting The Last Judgment on the altar wall. It depicts the souls of the dead rising up to face the wrath of God and the damned being hurled down to hell. The artist`s own tormented attitude to his faith is seen in his self-portrait, painted on the skin held by the martyr, St. Bartolomew.
More about Vaticans collections
By: Vasilena Dranchovska
The author is a publisher in A Look at the Worlds History.
