The best museums Rome

It is also in Sixtus IV that the pavement should be paved. The study of the soil shows that the separation wall, called transenne, is not at its initial location since it is placed on one of six circles of the first part of the chapel. We must imagine the original position of the wall, a little closer to the choir. It is then better understood the ground of the paving: a walk from the main door to the choir, a square for this choir reserved for the priests. It can be interpreted as symbolizing a allée allée first, then as a break of the procession once the transenne has passed. It can also be seen as a labyrinth, which was used in the bogs of the cathedrals of the time.

According to the collective contract signed on 27 October 1481 between Sixtus IV and Giovannino di Dolci, it was known that a group of six painters had to perform for the Pope the decoration of the two side walls of the chapel, that is, twelve frescoes, of the drapes in the eye as well as a papal gallery. The benches were also of their design. That's how they delivered the two painted walls, 28 papal portraits, and a blue vault on which white wax balls were glued, giving the impression of a constellation of stars when the candles éclairaient the chapel.

Their contract was then completed with a decoration project of the two remaining walls, that of the choir and that of the main door. The same group of artists devoted themselves to it, but 2 frescoes, The Discovery of Moses and The Nativity of Jesus, and 4 papal portraits disappeared under the last judgment of Michelangelo.

The Dispute around the body of Moses. Painted by Matteo da Leccia. This stage was originally painted by Luca Signorelli, but it was destroyed, like the Resurrection of Christ, in 1532, by the fall of the marble architrave of the main door.

The Resurrection of Christ. Painted by Hendrick Van den Broeck. Domenico Ghirlandajo painted the original fresco. There is less force in this fresco than in the previous one, and both do not reach the level of other paintings in the chapel. Michel-Ange, who was to paint this part, was prevented from doing so when he devoted himself to Pauline Chapel.

For a logical reading, we're starting from the choir to return to the main door.

The Baptism of Jesus. Painted by Le Perugino. The main stage is represented at the centre: Jesus is baptized in the waters of the Jordan by his cousin, Jean the Precursor, clothed with beast skin. The Holy Spirit, symbolized by a dove, then descended on him, under the gaze of God the Father inserted into a circle representing perfection. On the right, Jesus is a little above a group that listens to him preaching. On the right, it is Jean Baptiste who says that it is not he to hear, but «The one who comes».

The Temptations of Jesus. Painted by Sandro Botticelli. Christ appears four times on this fresco and is symbolized by a fifth stage. At the top, on the left, Satan disguised as religious seeks to try Jesus. Having failed, he found himself in the middle, on the temple of Jerusalem represented in the form of a hospital that the Pope had just built. Having failed again, he takes Jesus to the top of the mountain, but his last attempt is a failure; He discovers and runs away. In his purity by the angels, Jesus now appears left. First, the representation of a ritual sacrifice, the figure of a great priest, probably Melchisédec, is a symbol of Christ who is priest, prophet and king.

The Vocation of the Apostles. Painted by Domenico Ghirlandajo. The painter represented Jesus, choosing twice the apostles. On the top left, he calls Pierre and his brother André, just fishermen. He gives them his blessing in the foreground, where we see the apostles on his knees. These are the same as he takes to his suite, and they are found all three on the right bank, talking to John and Jacob, who follow Christ by letting their father, Zébédée, escape his oars.

The Sermon on the Mountain. Painted by De Rosselli. Jesus, in the middle, surrounded by the twelve apostles, descends from the mountain. In the foreground, always accompanied by his disciples who, sitting or standing, listen to his speech on the mountain in which he sets out the Beatitudes. The crowd on the left is amazed. Likewise, another crowd, on the right, expresses admiration for the healing of a lepers that Jesus also achieved in descending a mountain.

The Handing Over of keys to Pierre. Painted by Le Perugino and Luca Signorelli. The main stage is a representation that does not really exist in the Gospels. Indeed, if it is in Pierre that he claims to want to base his Church and to whom he gives the power to bind and surrender, no key has ever been exchanged in the Scriptures. On the left, we guess the scene that pits the pharisees to Jesus, in which he will reply: «Give unto Caesar what amounts to Caesar and God what comes to God. He therefore escapes what is represented on the right: stoning. On the right, the painter paid tribute to Giovanni de Dolci, architect of the Sistine Chapel, which saw him with a hand by hand, in conversation with Baccio Pontelli who holds a compass, and who built the chapel.

The Supper. Painted by De Rosselli and Biagio di Antonio Tucci. Sat, the twelve apostles share the bread and wine that Christ offers them, in the beginning of the sacrifice of his death that he will deal with a few hours later. The apostles are under discussion, probably evoke Easter and the agitation of Jerusalem. All are on the same side of the table, Jean on his left and Peter on his right, except Judas, who is in front of him. The nimbes are significant: Jesus wears a spring halo, the apostles a golden disc and Judas un unity under the action of Satan, which is represented in his neck. The three scenes in the background represent the prayer of Jesus to Gethsemane, the arrest of Christ and his crucifixion on Mount Golgotha, in the middle of the two oysters. John supports Mary, fainted.

For a logical reading, we're starting from the choir to return to the main door.

The Return of Moses to Egypt. Painted by Le Perugino. Three events in the life of Moses are represented here on one fresco. In the middle and background, we see Moses, dressed in yellow, farewell to his father-in-law Jéthro. In the first instance, Moses is arrested by an angel: he must not leave before he circumcised his son. On the right, under a beautiful palm tree, Moses attends the circumcision of his son who represents the consecration to God of his offspring.

The Statues of Moses. Painted by Sandro Botticelli. Moses is represented seven times on this fresco and is recognizable to the same yellow tunic. Reading is done from right to left. Moses kills an Egyptian and has to escape. On the way, he hunts a shepherd with his stick and helps the girls of Jéthro give to their rams. While he paître his flock, he defeated his shoes and found himself facing God who appeared to him in the ardent bush. Finally, he leads his family in Egypt, holding with one hand the stick given by God.

The Red Sea Passage. Painted by Biagio di Antonio Tucci. You can see Moses only once. It stands on the left and looks on the shore of the Egyptian army drowning in the red waters of the eponymous sea. On the right, hail and storm are raging on the capital of pharaoh, while it, sitting under a canopy, gets the council to chase the Hebrews into their flight. Left, the people continue their exodus through a parade in the mountains.

The Presentation of the Tables of the Act. Painted by De Rosselli. Moses appears four times in this scene. At the top, he received the Tables of the Act, while Joshua fell asleep. Income in the valley, it breaks the Tables of Rage, seeing the statue of the calf of gold and the cult that we are dedicated to. On the right, he orders the killing of those who have» against God. Left, it goes down with the new Tables and is transformed, as you can see from the unity that surrounds its head.

The Punishment of Korea, Datan and Abiram. Painted by Sandro Botticelli. Moses appears three times on this fresco. He is enjoyed with glory received after the Tables of the Act are handed over. On the right, the three rebels seek to stone Moses. He defends himself and a force throws them back. On the left, the ground opened under their feet and the land swallowed them, but Moses expresses his sorrow at this heavy punishment. In the background lies Constantine's bow, and it is noted that it is both the gesture of the baton of Moses and the rocking of Aaron's censer that put the rebels in failure.

The Last Acts of the life of Moses. Painted by Luca Signorelli and Bartolomeo della Gatta. Moses is represented five times on this stage. On the right, he reads his will to the twelve tribes of Israel and that of Levi is represented by the young naked man. The Tables of the Act are in the ark, at its feet. At the top, while it is on Mount Nébo, the angel of the Lord shows him the promised Earth; He then went back to help an invisible character. Left, he puts his baton of patriarch to Joshua who is standing in front of him. In the upper left, his shroud is not yellow but white, and even a unity li her head.

Designed by Pius VII Chiaramonti (1800-1823) to house Roman statues and busts, this museum was designed by the neoclassical sculptor Antonio Canova in 1807: there are about a thousand sculptures, including portraits of emperors, mock divinities, as well as numerous fragments, friezes and bas-reliefs of sarcophagi. It is worth mentioning the miller's funeral monument, from Ostia, dating from the 1st century AD. It is located in the gallery that links the Vatican museums to the courtyard and the Belvedere Palace.

Two small rooms display all the impressions of stamps, coins, commemorative medals of the Vatican City State since its creation, and others older.

The numismatic section presents drawings, plasters, dies necessary for the production of coins and medals. The philatelic section presents a collection of stamps from the Pontifical States, and some preparatory drawings for printing. There is also a Vatican post office.

This wing was built under Pius VII and inaugurated in 1817. It houses Roman statues and mosaics, some of which are copies of Greek statues. In the alcove we will seethestatue of the Nile. The river is depicted as a mature and bearded man, surrounded by crocodiles and sixteen naked children who symbolize the bends that the Nile must reach to flood agricultural land. This statue was found in Rome in 1513. Opposite, two gilded bronze peacocks come from Hadrian's villa in Tivoli. Their copy surrounds the Pigne, in the courtyard.

The Candelabra Gallery was refurbished under Pius VI. Its 80 m length is divided into 6 arcades where antiquities from the classical Roman period to the 2nd century are displayed. Under the pilasters rise marble candelabra. We will also look at the ceilings and glasses of the six bays designed by Domenico Torti and Ludwig Seitz under Leo XIII. Notice among all the statues, the curious one of the Artemis Ephesus: covered with what looks like breasts (and which in reality are bull's testicles), it symbolizes fertility.

Gallery of Saint Pius V. This little gallery exhibits tapestries. Admire the ceilings decorated with representations of the Evangelists and Doctors of the Church, painted by Giorgio Vasari and Jacopo Zucchi.

Sobieski Hall. This room, which is part of the apartments of Pius V, takes its name from the painting that decorates the main wall, by the Polish painter Jan Matejko (1883). It shows John III Sobieski, King of Poland, defeating the Turks against the ramparts of Vienna, which was besieged in 1683.