Vatican palaces are the most majestic architectural monument in the world. It includes: the Apostolic Palace , the Belvedere Palace , the Sistine Chapel , the Vatican Library , museums, chapels, Catholic government offices. Vatican palaces are not a single structure, but a complex of buildings and structures that represent the figure of an irregular quadrilateral.
The Apostolic Palace
Historians to this day have not come to an unambiguous conclusion about the date of the beginning of the construction of the Apostolic Palace. Some historians consider the days of the reign of Constantine the Great to be a temporary reference point, while others draw parallels with the apostolic residence of the times of Simmach (6th century AD). It is established that for some time the Apostolic Palace was empty, but after the Avignon captivity, the popes of the Vatican again became the "house" of popes.
In the XV century, Pope Nicholas V proposed to build a new palace. Architects and builders undertook the reconstruction of the northern wing, without destroying the old walls. This building later included Raphael's staves and Borgia's apartments.
Under the chapel altered 2 floors of the military tower, later called "Nikkolina", tk. For some time the chapel was the personal chapel of Nicholas V. The Dominican monk, the artist Fra Beato Angelico, decorated the chapel with the disciple of B. Gozotsoli. Three walls of the chapel narrate about the stories from the lives of saints Lorenzo and Stefan, the fourth wall later became an altar.
Toward the end of the 15th century, Pope Alexander VI Borgia invited the artist Pinturicchio to paint his chambers occupied six halls. The halls correspond to the themes of the paintings - Hall of Sacraments of Faith, Sibyl Hall, Hall of Sciences and Arts, Hall of the Life of Saints, Hall of the Mysteries and Hall of the Popes. Under Pope Julius II, through the construction of galleries, the Vatican and Belvedere palaces were joined, with the work of the great Michelangelo Buonarroti and the brilliant Raphael Santi painted on the painting, the architect of the project was Donato Bramante.
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Belvedere Palace
In the Belvedere Palace, there is the Pia-Clementa Museum , which houses many exhibits of ancient Greek and Roman art. The museum is led by two vestibules: a round one with a panoramic view of Rome and a quadrangular, in which the torso of Hercules flaunts. The round lobby has the Meleager Hall, represented by the statue of this hunter. From here you can get to the inner courtyard. In the courtyard of the Belvedere Palace, Pope Julius II installed a group of sculptures "Laocoon" and a statue of Apollo, and very soon other archaeological finds were added to them, forming the Vatican Museums.
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The Sistine Chapel
Sistine Chapel - perhaps the most famous chapel in the world - the pearl of the Vatican. The architecture of the building will not cause much interest, but the interior decoration will amaze with the frescoes of the genius artists of the Renaissance. The chapel is named after the Pope of Rome Sixtus IV, under the patronage of which works were carried out for the reconstruction and decoration of the building from 1477 to 1482. To this day, there is a conclave (a meeting of cardinals to choose a new pope).
The Sistine Chapel consists of three floors, covered with a cylindrical vault. On two sides the chapel is divided by a wall of marble with bas-reliefs, over which worked Giovanni Dolmato, Mino da Fiesole and Andrea Breno.
The side walls are divided into three tiers: the lower tier is decorated with draperies with the Pope's coat of arms, made with gold and silver; over the middle tier, the artists worked: Botticelli, Cosimo Rosselli, Ghirlandaio, Perugino, who introduced us to scenes from the lives of Christ and Moses. But still the greatest works of art are the paintings of the ceiling and walls, made by the painter Michelangelo. The frescoes of the ceiling depict 9 scenes of the Old Testament - from the creation of the world to the fall. On the wall above the altar of the chapel there is a scene of the Last Judgment, which, during important ceremonies, is decorated with tapestries made according to Raphael's sketches.
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Vatican Apostolic Library
The Vatican Library is famous for its rich collection of manuscripts from different eras. The library was founded by Pope Nicholas V in the 15th century. The collection of the library is constantly updated, now its fund includes about 150 thousand manuscripts, 1.6 million printed books, 8.3 thousand incunabula, more than 100 thousand engravings and maps, 300 thousand coins and medals.
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How to get there?
You can get to the palaces in two ways:
- From Termini Station, take the A (red) metro to Ottaviano-SPietro or Cipro-Musei Vaticani.
- buses number 64, 40, 60, 62.