Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Beyond the gallery is the
Appartamento di San Pio V
, with some interesting Flemish
tapestries, and the
Sala Sobieski
, named after an enormous 19th-century painting depicting
the victory of the Polish King John III Sobieski over the Turks in 1683.
Stanze di Raffaello
Even in the shadow of the Sistine Chapel, the Stanze di Raffaello (Raphael Rooms) stand
out. The four rooms were part of Pope Julius II's private apartment and in 1508 he com-
missioned the relatively unknown 25-year-old Raphael to decorate them. The resulting
frescoes cemented Raphael's reputation, establishing him as a rising star.
THE VATICAN: A POTTED HISTORY
Established under the terms of the 1929 Lateran Treaty, the Vatican is the modern vestige of the Papal States, the
papal fiefdom that ruled Rome and much of central Italy until Italian unification in 1861. It's an independent na-
tion and as such has a head of state (the pope) and government, as well as its own postal service and army - the
nattily dressed Swiss Guards.
The Vatican's association with Christianity dates to the 1st century when St Peter was crucified upside down in
Nero's Circus (roughly where St Peter's Square now stands). To commemorate this, the emperor Constantine
commissioned a basilica to be built on the site where the saint was buried.
For centuries, St Peter's Basilica stood at the centre of a densely populated quarter, but it wasn't until the 12th
century that the Palazzo Apostolico Vaticano was built. Like much of the Vatican, this fell into disrepair during
the exile of the papacy to Avignon (1305-78) and the Great Schism (the period between 1378 and 1417 when
rival popes ruled in Rome and Avignon).
Life returned to the Vatican in the 15th and 16th centuries when a series of ambitious Renaissance popes re-
vamped St Peter's and modernised the Palazzo Apostolico Vaticano. The baroque 17th century saw further trans-
formations, most notably the laying of St Peter's Square.
But while they carry his name, not all the rooms were completed by Raphael: he
painted the Stanza della Segnatura (Study) and Stanza d'Eliodoro (Waiting Room), while
the Stanza dell'Incendio di Borgo (Dining Room) and Sala di Costantino (Reception
Room) were decorated by students following his designs.
The first room you come to, the
Sala di Costantino
, was finished by Giulio Romano in
1525, five years after Raphael's death. It features the huge
Battaglia di Costantino contro
Maxentius
(Battle of the Milvian Bridge), which depicts the victory of Constantine,
Rome's first Christian emperor, over his rival Maxentius.
Leading off the
sala
are two rooms that are not traditionally counted as Raphael
Rooms: the
Sala dei Chiaroscuri
, featuring a Raphael-designed ceiling, and the
Cappella di Nic-
