Vatican City-State
The first stone was laid in XV century (under Pope Nicholas V) by Donato Bramante who proposed a design of the church based on the shape of a Greek cross.
But he was not able to finish the project. And the Basilica to construction of which Raphael, Baldassarre Peruzzi, Juliano da Sangallo and Michelangelo made contributions underwent a lot of changes. Only by 1605 Carlo Maderna gave the Basilica its final shape of a Latin cross and enlarged the façade making it almost the size that it has today. After that Bernini built St. Peter’s Square in front of the Basilica and made some small changes in the building’s interior. In 1612 under Pope Paul V Borghese grand opening of the Basilica took place. An inscription on the façade under six-meter statues of the apostles testifies about that.
Bramante left very little of the original St. Peter’s Basilica; for that he received a nickname Bramante the Destroyer. Among a few works of art untouched by Bramante’s inclination for modernization were folds of the doors of the central portal of the Basilica and Jotto’s mosaic “Navicella.”
Pompous monumentality of the interiors of the Basilica and its overwhelming size arouse mixed emotions in the visitors. However, amidst endless cascades of marble, dark tombs and conglomerations of baroque decorations one can find absence of significant works of art in the complex of the Basilica. The only exception is “Pieta” (1499) by Michelangelo located in the first chapel of the right aisle. On the floor of the central aisle there are marks showing the size of other cathedrals compared to St. Peter’s. The altar canopy (1678) and the platform of St. Peter (1656) made by Bernini are located in the depth of the Basilica. As tradition has it from this platform Saint Peter preached the gospel for the first time to Romans. On the other side of the platform two most outstanding tombs of the Basilica are located: on the left – the tombstone of Pope Paul III by Guglielmo della Porto, and on the right there’s the tombstone of Urban VIII by Bernini – later a great number of monuments were made according to the pattern of the latter. In the left aisle of the Basilica there’s the tombstone of Innocentius VIII – an excellent work by Antonio del Pollaiolo in the style of the epoch of Renaissance. One should also pay attention to a bronze statue of St. Peter making of which is attributed to Arnolfo di Cambio. The monument is located in the end of the central aisle. It is an unusual statue: its right leg is wiped off from kisses of millions of believers.
Visiting famous Vatican Grottos is a must – there are underground halls with gravestones and then – which is as important – to go up to the Basilica’s dome and to marvel at the unforgettable view on St. Peter’s Square and the city sprawling beneath.
It is hard to imagine a museum that would be more significant than the complex ofthe Vatican museums where the greatest collection of works of art of Antiquity and the epoch of Renaissance in the world is kept as well as outstanding archeological findings. In order to see the entire collection one has to walk as much as 8 kilometers! The first item on your list should be such indisputable masterpieces as the Pio-Clementino Museum, the Sistine Chapel, the Stanzas by Raphael and the Pinacotheque (a gallery of pictures).
The Pio-Clementino Museum is founded in XVIII century by Popes Pious VI and Clement XIV. The most outstanding exhibits of the museum are located in the octagonal yard of Cortile Ottagano. Here there’s the famous sculpture group “Laocoon” made in 50 B.C. on the island of Rhodes that was lost and found only in 1506 near the Coliseum. The “Lacoon” influenced very much the art of High Renaissance. The same can be said about another masterpiece – “the Apollo of the Belvedere,” a Roman copy of 130 A.D. of the Greek original of 330 B.C. Among many masterpieces of the museum are “Apoksiomen” – a statue of an athlete wiping his body after the race, “the Torso of the Belvedere” – a sculpture of the I century that deeply impressed Michelangelo, a figure of Hermes that puts a coat on his shoulder, a neo-classic sculpture of Perseus by Canova and two lampposts from Villa Adriana in Tivoli.
In 1503 Pope Julius II ordered Raphael who was 26 at that time to design four small halls in Vatican. This is how the Raphael Rooms came into being – one of the greatest masterpieces of the Western European art. Stanza della Segnatura is a library of Julius and a room where the Pope signed Papal edicts. The four main frescos are dedicated to the subjects of Theology, Poetry, Philosophy and Justice. On each fresco there are depicted antique, religious and modern characters and allusions. Stanza d’Eliodoro is Julius II’s personal apartment. The four main frescos of this hall depict the theme of the Divine Providence that takes a stand to defend the Faith. On one of the walls there’s depicted “The meeting of Leo I and Attila.” Leo X (he stepped on the Pope’s throne while Raphael worked on this Stanza) who insisted on portraying of his famous namesake wanted the beams of glory to fall on him too. This desire was fulfilled in the third hall “Stanza del’Incendio.” The majority of the frescos in this hall are dedicated to the Popes named Leos who had been on the throne before Leo X. Early death of Raphael in 1520 did not allow him to finish the last hall– Stanza de Constantine. There’s only one fresco there made according to the artist’s drawings.