The Vatican: A Museum of Museums

The first time I visited the Vatican was over twenty years ago. It was one of several stops on a multi-country high school trip which I often cite as the genesis of my love of travel. Included in our whirlwind tour of Rome was a visit to the Vatican Museums. However, as we were short on time due to a packed itinerary, the only part of the vast museum complex that we were able to see was the world-renowned Sistine Chapel.

Skipping over the rest of the museums now would be unthinkable, but, as a teenager with only a passing interest in art or museums, I was unbothered. I remember zipping through the ornate galleries, following the tour guide with her little flag toward the famous chapel and paying very little attention to the priceless treasures in my midst. Last month I had the opportunity to right this wrong when I visited the Vatican Museums again. This time, I spent an entire day soaking in as much as I possibly could of this vast treasure trove of art and culture.

The extensive collections of the Vatican Museums are housed in a series of interconnected buildings, many of which are historically significant in their own right. With 21,000 works on display over 40,000 square metres and a further 100,000 artifacts in storage, the museum’s collection is among the largest and most impressive anywhere in the world. With objects ranging from ancient Greek statues to Egyptian mummies to Renaissance paintings, not to mention some of the most stunning architectural masterpieces ever created, the incomparable Vatican Museums are a must-see for any visitor to Rome.

Genesis

The birth of the Vatican Museums can be traced back to the 16th-century pope, Julius II. A great enthusiast of classical art and patron to some of the leading artists of his day including Michelangelo, Raphael, and Bramante, Julius II amassed an extensive collection of Greek and Roman antiquities which he brought with him to the Vatican when he was elected Pope in 1503.

In 1506, the discovery of an ancient Greek statue in a vineyard near Rome caused quite a stir as it was immediately identified as the Laocoön, a sculpture described by the ancient Roman historian, Pliny the Elder. The dynamic large-scale sculpture depicts the Trojan priest, Laocoön, and his sons being devoured by serpents sent as punishment from the gods after he tried to warn his fellow Trojans not to accept the wooden horse left by the Greeks at the city gates.

Upon the advice of Michelangelo, Julius II purchased the sculpture and placed it in the Cortile delle Statue, a central courtyard within the Apostolic Palace, where it remains to this day. The Laocoön became the centrepiece of the papal collection of sculptures which, two centuries later, would form the nucleus of the first Vatican Museum.

Pio Clementino Museum

During the 18th century, the papal collection begun by Julius II grew immensely as a result of excavations in Rome and donations from collectors. At the same time, the Age of Enlightenment which promoted the pursuit of knowledge through art and science, had led to the creation of the first public museums in Europe. The Vatican followed suit with the opening of the first of its museums, the Pio Clementino, in 1771. This museum, named for the two popes who oversaw its foundation – Clement XIV and Pius VI – was tasked with safeguarding the extensive collection of art and antiquities amassed by a succession of popes and promoting the study of and interest in these treasures to the public at large.

The Pio Clementino remains the heart of the Vatican Museums and is now home to some 1,600 sculptural works from the classical and neo-classical periods. Brimming with artistic wonders, each of the twelve galleries of the Pio Clementino has its own distinctive character. The Hall of Animals – a personal favourite – is home to a whimsical collection of colourful animal sculptures from ancient times up to the 18th century. This unique exhibit was assembled at the behest of Pope Pius VI with the aim of creating a kind of marble zoo. Another gallery of note is the massive Round Hall. With a domed ceiling reminiscent of the Pantheon, this circular room features colossal statues, a massive red stone basin dating back to the Roman Empire, and 3rd century floor mosaics.

Papal Apartments

Though the Vatican Museums officially came into existence with the opening of the 18th-century Pio Clementino, many of its galleries date back even further. Several of the lavish rooms now incorporated into the vast network of museums originally formed part of the Apostolic Palace which housed the private apartments of the pope. Among the oldest rooms are those of the Borgia Apartment once occupied by Pope Alexander VI, a member of the infamous Borgia family. These interconnected rooms are richly decorated with a cycle of frescoes dating back to the 15th century. They were extensively restored and opened to the public at the end of the 19th century.

Following the death of Alexander VI, the apartment was abandoned. His successor, Julius II did not wish to be surrounded by the memory of his despised predecessor and opted instead to move into a separate wing of the Papal Palace. He commissioned the painter Raphael to decorate his new apartments, giving the artist free rein to create frescoes and artwork as he wished. The frescoes which adorn the walls of these four rooms are known as the Stanze di Raffaello and include his masterpiece, the School of Athens, one of the quintessential paintings of the Italian Renaissance.

A slightly later addition to the Papal Palace was the Hall of Maps, also now part of the Vatican Museums. Forty large-scale frescoed maps depicting the regions of Italy cover the walls of this 120-metre-long gallery. In 1580, Pope Gregory XIII commissioned the great mathematician and cosmographer Ignazio Danti along with a team of painters to complete the grandiose project.

Expansion and Development

Around 1790, the papal collection grew to include its first paintings with the acquisition of 118 priceless works. Seven years later, when Napoleon invaded Italy, he seized much of this newly formed collection and transported the paintings to France. Upon the defeat of the French emperor, the Vatican was able to recover most of the paintings. However, in the intervening years, the collections of the Vatican had grown significantly necessitating the addition of the new Chiaramonti Museum. Founded in 1806, the Chiaramonti aimed to present the “three sister arts” together in one place – sculpture, represented by the classical works on display, painting, characterized by frescoes created to decorate the walls by young artists of the time, and architecture, in the form of shelves made from ancient architectural fragments.

When the works seized by Napoleon were returned, the collections had to be reorganized once again which led to the creation of the New Wing. This section of the museum was designed to pay tribute to the classical era with Roman mosaics, colossal statues, and classical architectural features. Other 19th-century additions to the Vatican’s growing museum complex included an Etruscan museum in 1837, an Egyptian museum in 1839, and a Christian history museum in 1854. In 1932, the opening of the Pinacoteca Museum finally provided a dedicated space for the Vatican’s paintings. The impressive collection of Old Master paintings now numbers over 400 and includes masterpieces by the likes of Giotto, Leonardo da Vinci, and Caravaggio.

In the 20th century, the papal collections expanded to include modern and contemporary art, non-European collections representing the cultures of Asia, Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, newly redesigned exhibition spaces including one to showcase papal carriages and automobiles from across the centuries, as well as state of the art conservation and restoration laboratories. Today the Vatican Museums comprise 54 galleries across 26 separate museums dedicated to preserving and promoting art, history, and culture.

Revelation

The jewel in the Vatican Museums’ crown is the illustrious Sistine Chapel. Originally called the Capella Magna, it was renamed for Pope Sixtus IV who had it restored between 1477 and 1480. As part of the 15th-century restorations, Sixtus commissioned a team of painters to execute a series of wall frescoes. At that time, the ceiling was painted to resemble a starry sky. While the wall frescoes remain, the ceiling was spectacularly transformed in the early 16th century when Pope Julius II famously commissioned Michelangelo to paint it. The 33-year-old artist completed the elaborate and incredibly taxing project over the course of just four years. Twenty-five years later, Julius II would call on him again to paint a large fresco for the altar wall of the chapel which resulted in the creation of his masterpiece, The Last Judgement.

With these two enormous projects, Michelangelo created some of the most enduring images in the history of art. No doubt you will have seen them reproduced at some point, but, in my opinion, there is no substitute for standing inside that jewel box of a chapel and setting eyes upon those magnificent works of art with your own eyes. It is truly a sight to behold. But, while the Sistine Chapel should definitely be on your must-see list, the Vatican Museums have no shortage of other masterpieces to admire. I’m so grateful that on this return visit, I was able to fully immerse myself in all the beauty, art, culture, and history of this incomparable museum of museums.

Further Reading

• Vatican Museums Official Website: https://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en.html
• Sistine Chapel: https://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en/collezioni/musei/cappella-sistina.html