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.

Article written by Vasilena Dranchovska.