Vatican City-State
One of the most visited places of - Vatican is the Sistine Chapel , built here under Pope Sixtus IV (1477 – 1481). Outwardly it is absolutely homely, especially after St. Peter’s Basilica, but inside it is richly decorated with frescos. The Cardinals use this place to elect a new Pope. From 1480 till 1483 the walls of the Chapel were decorated by famous artists of the Renaissance: on the left the life of Moses is depicted, on the right – that of Jesus, and in between the windows – portraits of 24 Popes. This place is famous for the frescos of the great artist Michelangelo Buonarroti who frescoed the Chapel’s ceiling at the direction of Pope Julius II from 1508 to 1512. The artist spent four years in the hardest conditions – he had to paint lying down on his back during intolerable heat and cold. The scenes depicting more than 300 characters are divided up into 9 main sections placed in chronological order. The first five frescos are the scenes of the creation of the world from the book of Genesis; they are followed by “the Fall of Man,” “the Sacrifice of Noah,” “The Deluge“ and “the Intoxication of Noah.” In 1524 the artist began frescoing the altar wall. The huge work (200 sq. m., 3 years) was called “The Last Judgment” and depicted 291 figures. Michelangelo creates a hard-edged and straight out image of the Last Judgment. On the right on the fresco sinners are bent by a stroke of fate, and their faces and bodies are shaken with terror; on the left – the righteous go up to heaven, and it seems that salvation has brought them relief rather than joy.
A spiral rampant of architect Giuseppe Momo (XVIII century) has a very interesting feature: visitors going up do not meet with those coming down. One can be made certain of it if he looks down at the construction from the top. Among the most famous of the pictures of the Pinacotheque are Raphael’s last work “the Transfiguration,” his one more picture “Madonna of Foligno,” “The Stefaneschi Triptych” by Giotto, “The Descent from the Cross” by Caravaggio, “Sixtus IV and Platina” by Melozzo da Forli. Unfinished “Saint Jerome” is also here – the only picture by Leonardo da Vinci in Rome as well as works by almost all great Italian and European artists.
One can also visit the Gallery of Geographical Maps, the walls of which are decorated with a series of colorful maps on 40 panels, the Chapel of Nicholas V, the Apartment of Borgia, Gregorian Museum of Etruscans, the Museum of Egypt.
For centuries Popes collected and kept such a great number of works of art that they formed one of the biggest and richest museums of the world!