Museums Vatican

Vatican despite the small territory owns fabric treasures. In his museums, the invaluable works of art, created by outstanding artists and sculptors, are kept. Vatican museums include apartments of Borgia, Capella Nikkolin, Library, Pinakotek, Square Chapel, Egyptian and Etruscan Museums, Rafael Machines, Tapestry Gallery and Geographic Map Gallery.

In the Vatican, an abundance of truly fabulous treasures is collected, you need to spend many years to enjoy and feel them.

The treasures and assemblies of the Vatican accumulated gradually, but over time the collection it was so rummaged that the question of the need to create individual museums. For this purpose, Pope Clement XIV and Cardinal Basques (future father Piy VI) decided to rebuild old and build new premises. Construction work, which lasted 15 years, were charged with architects Simonetti and Kamospise. The old antiquary for the statues was converted, an octagonal portico was attached to him, and all these premises have adapted for the museum halls. The new museum was called Pio Clementino.

In the new museum there were Muses Hall, Rotonda, the Hall of the Beasts, the Gallery of the statues, the Garden of Masks and some others, in which the masterpieces of the ancient art of many nations are collected. For example, near the hall of the MUZ was located the hall of the beasts. It puts many excellent sculptures depicting animals and filled in white and colored marble.

In the hall of the Greek Cross there are excellent mosaics of the II-III centuries already our era, as well as two grand sarcophagus of the IV century. In one of them, the ashes of Elena – Mother of Christian Emperor Constantine, in the other – the dust of his daughter.

After the creation of the Pio Clementino Museum under the leadership of Giovanni Batista Wisconti, the scientific systematization of works of art stored in the Vatican was held. Subsequently, Wisconti published a museum monumental catalog consisting of seven volumes.

In 1797, under the contract between the Pope Piai VI and the French from the museum to France, a huge number of invaluable works were exported. Dad, Pei Vii, wanting to compensate the loss of the museum, in the first years of its pontification began to collect works of ancient art. The meeting was quickly replenished, and then under the guidance and on the project of the architect Stern, a new building was built, which was called "Bracho Nuovo".

In the spacious bright room, decorated marble, spreading statues along the walls. Among them, the statue of August is highlighted from the port of Port – a beautiful Roman copy of the Statue of Demosphen from the Bronze Original of Polyevkta. The attention of visitors attracts the statue of Nile – a Roman copy from the original Alexandria school, as well as a marble copy of "Silen and Dionysis" from the original Lisippa.

In 1816, by decision of the Vienna Congress, artistic values ​​exported to France were returned to Italy. Among the returned works were 73 pictures that are collected in the apartments of Borgia.

Of these, the two paintings of Raphael – "Madonna Foligno" (written during the heyday of his creativity) and "Transfiguration".

In the Rafael Hall there are ten tapestries performed on his paintings – the most famous treasures from the entire Vatican collection of tapestries. They were ordered by Pope Lvom X in 1516 to decorate the Sistine Chapel and made in Brussels.

In 1837, an Etruscan Museum was opened. The basis for its creation was the finds during archaeological excavations in Cvetheri (1828-1836.).

Etruscan belong to the number of the most mysterious peoples of the ancient world, still the question of their origin remains among scientists controversial. Ancient writers talked about them as brave fabrics, formidable pirates, deft merchants and beautiful artisans. The period of the highest flourishing of the culture of Etruscov refers to the VIII-V centuries BC. NS.

Not a single monumental monument of Etruscan architecture has been preserved, as the temples in the Etruria were built of wood. They were decorated with reliefs and sculptures made of burnt and painted clay – material of very fragile. Extra reliefs and sculptures are also not preserved, only fragments remained from them.

The found archaeological finds are located in the Nine Halls of the Etruscan Museum. Architectural fragments are exhibited here, four sarcophagus (V-I century BC. NS.), numerous household items from gold and silver – glasses, figurines, candelabra, mirrors and much more. In 1937, on the will of Marquis, the Museum received a famous collection of works of Etruscan art from necropolis in vulci.

In 1839, the Egyptian Museum was opened in the lower floor of the same building, which stores numerous art exhibits of ancient Egypt, ranging from amulets and papyrus and ending with colossal statues. In the windows of museum exhibits a rich collection of scarabs – the sacred beetle, by the movements of which the ancient Egyptians read the destiny of his country and people. Gold and silver scarabs have put many burial.

The most valuable is a sculptural portrait of the head of the king Mentuhotep. The emergence of portrait sculpture in Egypt dates back to the cult of the dead, and the production of death masks.

Mentuhotep king’s head is made of sandstone. The name of the Pharaoh goes back to very ancient cult of the god Cops – the main patron of Upper Egypt capital. Mentuhotep and is depicted with a straight face in the form of a powerful king-god – ruler of Egypt. His head is crowned with white crown adorned uraeus – the sacred snake. White Urey beautifully accentuates and highlights the face of the red-brick color.