The Vatican Museums: Where Art Meets Eternity
The Vatican Museums
About Vatican Museum
Located in the heart of Vatican City, the Vatican Museums house a significant collection of art and historical artefacts gathered by the Roman Catholic Church over centuries. Highlights include Michelangelo's iconic ceiling in the Sistine Chapel, the Raphael Rooms, and St Peter's Basilica, which attract almost 6 million people annually.
History
The Vatican Museums were founded in 1506, when Pope Julius II purchased an antique marble statue known as Laocoön and His Sons, which became the centrepiece of the papal art collection.
Over the ages, successive popes enlarged the collection, adding masterpieces of classical antiquity, Renaissance art, and religious writings.
Pope Julius II commissioned Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling (1508-1512), which is still one of the museum's principal attractions.
Collections of Christian, Egyptian, and Etruscan artefacts were added in the 18th and 19th centuries, elevating the museums to the status of global historical and cultural centres.
Today, the Vatican Museums comprise 54 galleries (known as "Musei Vaticani") that house about 70,000 works of art, with approximately 20,000 on permanent display.


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