Rome & Lazio - Italy - page 220

The Stanza della Segnatura , Julius' study and library, was the first room that Raphael
painted, and it's here that you'll find his great masterpiece, La Scuola di Atene (The
School of Athens) featuring philosophers and scholars gathered around Plato and Aris-
totle. The seated figure in front of the steps is believed to be Michelangelo, while the fig-
ure of Plato is said to be a portrait of Leonardo da Vinci, and Euclide (the bald man bend-
ing over) is Bramante. Raphael also included a self-portrait in the lower right corner -
he's the second figure from the right.
The most famous work in the Stanza dell'Incendio di Borgo is the Incendio di Borgo (Fire
in the Borgo), which depicts Pope Leo IV extinguishing a fire by making the sign of the
cross. The ceiling was painted by Raphael's master, Perugino.
PAPAL AUDIENCES
At 11am every Wednesday, the pope addresses his flock at the Vatican (in July and August in Castel
Gandolfo near Rome). For details of how to apply for free tickets, see the Vatican website
( www.vatican.va/various/prefettura/index_en.html ).
When he is in Rome, the pope blesses the crowd in St Peter's Square on Sunday at noon. No tickets
are required.
SISTINE CHAPEL (CAPELLA SISTINA)
This is the one place in the Vatican Museums that everone wants to see, and on a busy day
it can attract up to 20,000 people. Home to two of the world's most famous works of art -
Michelangelo's ceiling frescoes and the Giudizio Universale (Last Judgment) - this 15th-
century chapel also serves an important religious function as the place where the conclave
meets to elect a new pope.
The ceiling frescoes , which are best viewed from the chapel's main entrance in the east
wall (opposite the visitor entrance), are centred on nine panels depicting scenes from the
Creation, the story of Adam and Eve, the Fall, and the plight of Noah.
As you look up from the east wall, the first panel is the Drunkenness of Noah , followed
by the Flood , and Noah's Sacrifice . Next, the Temptation and Expulsion of Adam and
Eve from the Garden of Eden famously depicts Adam and Eve being sent packing after
accepting the forbidden fruit from Satan, represented by a snake with the body of a wo-
man coiled around a tree. The Creation of Eve is then followed by the Creation of Adam .
This, one of the most famous images in Western art, shows a bearded God pointing his
finger at Adam, thus bringing him to life. Completing the sequence are the Separation of