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This section is the first, original collection of statues of the Vatican Museums. Named after the two Popes Pio and Clemente who, throughout the 18^th century, founded and opened it to the public. The statues displayed here are of enormous importance and many of them date from the 1^st to the 4^th century AD. Statues of Heracles, Osiris – Antinous, Laocoonte and Apollo Belvedere are just a few of the classical statues that you will encounter on your way through the Vatican Museums.

The Galleries that are part of this itinerary are the Gallery of Candelabra, the Gallery of Maps and the Gallery of Tapestries. The statues and the marble floors, with precious decorations and mosaics and frescoes on the ceilings, are what makes the Gallery of Candelabra one of the most beautiful sections of the Vatican Museums. The Gallery of Tapestries, that will follow, will bring you closer to the expression of the genius work of Raphael. The Tapestries, which were made originally for the Sistine Chapel, were designed by Raphael and embroidered by tapestry masters in Belgium. The Gallery of Maps is 120 meters long and hosts the maps of all the Italian regions and was created between 1581 and 1583. Every region’s map is connected to the fresco, painted on the “golden” ceiling, that represents miraculous events that occurred in the region.

The School of Athens within the Raphael Rooms is one among many well known artworks created by Raphael. While the older Michelangelo was painting the Sistine Chapel, a young artist Raphael had been called by the pope Julius II to paint the apartments inside the Vatican Palace. The room, meant to be the private library of the Pope, was brought by Raphael to a new level of artistic expression and topic composition. He reproduced a combination of Philosophy, theology, literature and jurisprudence.

The astonishing ceiling painted by Michelangelo when he was barely 30 years old. Known as a sculptor, Michelangelo succeeded in this challenging task: his paintings left everyone astonished. The combination of artistic talent (sculptor and painter) and knowledge of the history and catholic history, brought to light the completeness of this artist. The technique used to paint the figures on the ceiling was a pioneering method that later affected his sight and overall health.

It is hard to believe that a 23-year old artist can create something so extraordinary, overwhelming, marvellous and peculiar like the Pietà. This artwork, that brought Michelangelo among the famous artists of his era, is the first and the only one that he has ever signed. Artists, pilgrims, and tourists from all over the world admire this sculpture inside St. Peter’s Basilica with wonder and astonishment.

At the time of its construction, the Bernini’s Baldachin was taller than all of the buildings in Rome! The Baldachin, after the completion of St. Peter’s Basilica, was built as a reverence of St. Peter’s tomb and lays exactly below the Altar.