The awe-inducing Papal collections
The Vatican Museums house the extensive collection of the Catholic Church, featuring some of history’s most renowned masterpieces and ranking among the largest and most-visited museums in the world. The collection spans 26 individual museums, originating in the 16th century as a group of sculptures amassed by Pope Julius II, and has expanded through centuries of papal patronage, reflecting the Church’s wealth, power and influence. Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel frescoes are but one jewel among the roughly 20,000 artworks on view from the 70,000-strong collection, spread across approximately 1,400 rooms and gallery spaces. The Museo Pio-Clementino displays spectacular ancient sculpture such as the “Laocoön and His Sons” and the “Apollo Belvedere,” while the Stanze di Raffaello (Raphael Rooms) host four of the master’s extraordinary figurative frescoes. Michelangelo’s affective “Pieta,” one of his earliest masterpieces, can be seen in St. Peter’s Basilica, a reflection of his self-identification as a sculptor. The Vatican’s art gallery, Pinacoteca Vaticana, showcases stunning paintings from the Middle Ages to the 19th century, including Raphael’s “Transfiguration” and Caravaggio’s “The Entombment of Christ.” The museums even host a large collection of modern and contemporary art, with artworks by Vincent van Gogh, Marc Chagall, Giorgio de Chirico and Henri Matisse, among others.