The first nucleus of
the Vatican Palaces was built halfway through the 15th
century, after the when the popes, the Avignonese
Captivity at an end, decided to transfer their residence
from the Lateran to the Vatican. The first residence, of
square design, had a quadrangular central courtyard (the
courtyard of the parrot) to which the other buildings
were slowly added.
The Vatican Museums; which, besides the art gallery,
hold priceless works; were built from the 1700's on,
arranging the papal collections started in the
Renaissance period.
The rooms decorated by Raphael are those constructed by
Nicholas V (halfway through the 15th century). Already
decorated by Piero della Francesca, Andrea del Castagno
and others they were completely restructured under
Julius 11 by Bramante who called on a whole crew of
artists to paint the rooms, among them were Perugino,
Sodoma and Lorenzo Lotto. Later the architect called
Raphael, entrusting him with all the decorations and
dismissing all the others. The rooms are under
restoration not yet completed.
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The four rooms frescoed by
Raphael and his assistants between 1508 and 1524 are in the
quarters once inhabited by the popes, starting with Julius
11.
The Stanza di Costantino, used for official ceremonies and
receptions, was entirely decorated by the workshop of the
Urbinan, after his death in 1520.The scenes, depicted on
false tapestries, are: The Baptism of Constantine, The
Battle of Ponte Milvio, and The Apparition of the Cross and
The Donation of
Rome to pope Silvester. Here the theme is that of the
victory over paganism and of the settlement of the Church in
the towns. Alle
gorical figures, Pontiffs and virtue are in the corners.
The Stanza d'Eliodoro is next; it was once a secret
antichamber to the apartment. The theme of the decoration,
ca rried out between 1512 and 1514, is of a
politico-religious nature.
The frescoes po rtraying the Bolsena Mass, The Liberation of
St. Peter, The Meeting of Leone Magna with Attila and The
Expulsion of Eliodoro, are almost all autographs. The
caryatids of the plinths by Francesco Penni and the vault
with scenes from the OldTestament by Guillaume de Marcillat
complete the decoration.
You pass into the Stanza della Segnatura, the first to be
done, chronologically (1508 11); it is Raphael's masterpiece.
Originally the study and library of the Pontiff, it became
the seat of the judicial tribunal, hence the name. It was
frescoed following a precise theological programme.
The episodes portrayed are: The School of Athens, The
Delivery of the Canonical Law, Parnassus and The Debate of
the Sacrament. The last room is the Stanza dell'lncendio di
80rgo, at one time dining room and for music. It is the last
room Raphael worked on, he only did the cartoons, and the
execution of the work was done entirely by his workshop
(Giulio Romano, Francesco Penni).The idea of the decoration
was to praise the reigning Pontiff, Leo X Medici, through
the narration of episodes taken from the life of two popes
with the same name, Leo III and Leo IV (The
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Coronation of Charles the Great,
The Fire of Borgo, The Battle of Ostia and The Justification
of Leo Ill).
The vault with the Allegories of the Holy Trinity is by
Perugino, the portrayal of the atlases in the corners are by
Giulio Romano and the splendidly inlaid doors are by G.
Barile
and Fra Giovanni da Verona.
The Loggia by Raphael (visitable from the Sala di Costa nti
no with the permission of the management) is to be found on
the second floor of the Pontiff's Palace. It is formed of
three structures of loggias one above the other, designed by
Bramante for Julius II in 1508. On the death of the
architect (1514), Raphael was commissioned to complete the
work, which included the decoration and the fresco (1519).The
other two loggias were decorated by Giovanni da Udine during
the course of the 16th century and are not visitable.
Episodes taken from the Old and New Testaments are portrayed
(The Stories from Genesis, Stories of Moses and of Oavid,
Stories of Christ). The paintings were mostly done by the
students of Raphael, who realised a true and proper teamwork:
among the others are also Giovanni da Udine and Perin del
Vaga.
In the Vatican art gallery there are several important works
by Raphael, in salon VIII dedicated to him: The Coronation
of the Virgin, The Madonna di Foligno, The Transfiguration
and ten tapestries.
The Coronation of the Virgin portrays the Apostles who,
standing next to the empty tomb and looking towards heaven,
witness the event. The altar-piece, with altar-step with
stories of the Virgin, was commissioned at the beginning of
the 1500's by Maddalena degli Oddi for the church of St.
Francis at Perugia.
Acquired by the French in 1797, it returned
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