The Vatican Museums

The Vatican Museums in Vatican city holds one of the most valuable collections of art in the world. The collections are extensive, and cover a large time period in the history of art, from Egyptian and Assyrian art to modern religious art from the 19th and 20th centuries.

Four rooms decorated my Raphael are some of the main features of the Vatican Museums. Over the course of 16 years, from 1508 to 1524, Raphael worked for Pope Julius II painting frescoes in his private rooms. He covered up previously existing frescoes commissioned by Alexander VI who had been in power before Julius II. Raphael’s frescoes brought him fame, even though he died before their ultimate completion.

(Raphael's School of Athens, in the Raphael Rooms, http://www.rome.info/museums/vatican/raphael-rooms/raphael.jpg)

The Sistine Chapel is perhaps the most famous part of the Vatican Museums as it displays Michelangelo’s finest fresco painting. The walls of the chapel are decorated by him as well as various other famous artists of the 15th and 16th centuries. Michelangelo’s Last Judgment fresco on the wall of the altar is a stunning representation of souls rising to God or falling into the depths of hell.

(Michelangelo's Last Judgment from the Sistine Chapel, http://www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/images/vatican/sistine-chapel/last-judgment-wga-350.jpg)

The Sistine Ceiling, also by Michelangelo and painted between 1508 and 1512, is an immense undertaking. Michelangelo painted the entire ceiling from scaffolding. The two main scenes, the Creation of Adam and Fall of Man, are placed in the center. Surrounding panels show scenes from both the Old and New Testaments. The figures are unique with their muscular body types, and a modern restoration revealed the paintings’ brilliant colors.

(Michelangelo's Creation of Adam from the Sistine ceiling, http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/sistine-chapel-michelangelo-paintings-5.jpg)

An admission fee is required to see the museums, except for the last Sunday of the month.

Hours: Mon-Sat, 8:45am-4:45pm, last admission at 3:20pm; last Sun of the month, 8:45-1:45pm, last admission at 12:20pm

(See Eyewitness Travel Guide: Rome)