Il Musei Vaticani

Today we visited Vatican City and spend most of our day inside the Vatican Museum(s). This series of museums, joined together to make one large museum, houses collections of art and artifacts collected by the popes, including some of the most important pieces of Renaissance art in the world.

The museum's history is generally traced back to one specific sculpture, the sculpture of Laocoon and his sons. Laocoon was a Trojan priest who was killed along with his sons after attempting to expose the Trojan horse. The story goes that Apollo sent snakes to kill Laocoon and his sons because of this attempt, which was interpreted to the Trojans as a sign that the horse was a sacred object. The statue shows a scene of fear, suffering and death. The oldest son, who is entangled in the snakes, is afraid; the father, bitten by a snake, is in tremendous pain and suffering; the youngest son, the poison having reached his bloodstream, is dead. This is an impressive sculpture to see both artistically and historically, and had a large impact on the Italian Baroque period of art.

This sculpture of Laocoon and his sons is one of the most famous not only in the Vatican Museum, but in the history of art from this time period. 

One painting at the Vatican that was particularly interesting for me to see was a depiction of the Battle at Milvian Bridge. This battle was fought between Constantine and Maxentius for sole control of the Roman Empire in the west. What is particularly interesting about the Battle at Milvian Bridge is that Constantine - the first Christian emperor of the Roman Empire - is said to have fought this battle in the name of the Christian God. There is a story that has been related of a vision of God to Constantine before going into battle against Maxentius that he would be victorious in the sign of heaven at Milvian Bridge. After winning this battle Constantine is said to have dedicated his life to Christ, and had a significant effect on the rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire. A year after winning this battle, Constantine signed the Edict of Milan, which granted religious tolerance for Christians and put to an end a period referred to as "the age of martyrs". It is because of this progression of Christianity that Constantine and his story are still so widely found across Rome. This painting serves as a representation of a victory not only for Constantine, but for Christianity as a whole.

In this scene of the Battle at Milvian Bridge, Constantine his shown on a horse, his army victorious, while Maxentius and his troops drown in the Tiber river. 

My favorite part of the Vatican Museum today was the Sistine Chapel (although I know that sounds like a cop-out answer). The most famous piece of this chapel, and artistically my favorite piece, is the ceiling which was painted by Michaelangelo between 1508 and 1512. Interestingly enough, Michealangelo was intimidated by how large the commission was, thinking himself much more a sculptor than a painter, and made it known that he would prefer to decline painting this work. The Last Judgement, a large painting on the wall behind the altar and the last work to be added, was also painted by Michaelangelo. Although you cannot take photos in the Sistine Chapel, so I have to take any pictures I add from the internet, a photograph cannot really do justice the incredible beauty and history that is manifested in Michaelangelo's artwork.

Perhaps the most famous piece from the Sistine Chapel, Michaelangelo's "The Creation of Adam" is found near the center of the chapel on the ceiling. The works in the Sistine chapel are progressive chronologically and show the creation story, the life of Moses, the life of Jesus and the judgement day.