Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The next room, the
Sala Rotonda
, contains a number of colossal statues, including the
gilded-bronze figure of an odd-looking
Ercole
(Hercules) and an exquisite floor mosaic.
The enormous basin in the centre of the room was found at Nero's Domus Aurea and is
made out of a single piece of red porphyry stone.
MUSEO GREGORIANO ETRUSCO
On the upper level of the Belvedere Palace (off the 18th-century Simonetti staircase), the
Museo Gregoriano Etrusco contains artefacts unearthed in the Etruscan tombs of northern
Lazio, as well as a collection of Greek vases and Roman antiquities. Of particular interest
is the
Marte di Todi
(Mars of Todi), a full-length bronze of a warrior dating from the 4th
century BC.
GALLERIA DELLE CARTE
GEOGRAFICHE (MAP GALLERY)
The last of three galleries - the other two are the
Galleria dei Candelabri
(Gallery of the
Candelabra) and the
Galleria degli Arazzi
(Tapestry Gallery) - this 120m-long corridor is
hung with 16th-century topographical maps of Italy.
STANZE DI RAFFAELLO
(RAPHAEL ROOMS)
These four frescoed chambers were part of Pope Julius II's private apartments. Raphael
himself painted the Stanza della Segnatura (1508-11) and the Stanza d'Eliodoro
(1512-14), while the Stanza dell'Incendio (1514-17) and Sala di Costantino (1517-24)
were decorated by students following his designs.
The first room you come to is the
Sala di Costantino
, which features a huge fresco de-
picting Constantine's defeat of Maxentius at the battle of Milvian Bridge.
The
Stanza d'Eliodoro
, which was used for private audiences, takes its name from the
Cacciata d'Eliodoro
(Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple), an allegorical work re-
flecting Pope Julius II's policy of forcing foreign powers off Church lands. To its right,
the
Messa di Bolsena
(Mass of Bolsena) shows Julius paying homage to the relic of a
13th-century miracle at the lakeside town of Bolsena. Next is the
Incontro di Leone
Magno con Attila
(Encounter of Leo the Great with Attila) by Raphael and his school,
and, on the fourth wall, the
Liberazione di San Pietro
(Liberation of St Peter), a brilliant
work illustrating Raphael's masterful ability to depict light.
