Vatican Pinacoteca
The Vatican Pinacoteca is simply a painting gallery and is part of the Museums.
It contains many excellent works from artists such as Raphael Sanzio, Caravaggio, Perugino, Romano, Leonardo Da Vinci and others.
Most people do not see the Vatican Pinacoteca as it is in a newer section of the museums and is off the beaten track.
Pinacoteca
The collection itself is quite old and the process was started over 200 years ago when Pope Pius VI assembled a selection of 118 Catholic paintings he liked from around Italy.
Vatican Art
Twenty years later Napoleon invaded Italy and took many of these paintings back to Paris and put them in Louvre.
Toppled by the British in 1817, the collection was returned to the Vatican and sat in the Borgia Apartments.
Paintings in the Vatican
Once returned, various Popes added to the collection either by buying paintings they liked or commissioning new ones.
The current building was completed in 1932 for then Pope Pius XI who wanted to ensure the paintings received the best lighting conditions available.
Vatican Museums Artwork
Today, there 460 paintings which are divided up chronologically in to 18 rooms, dating from the 12th to the 19th centuries.
They give the visitor a chance to see the development of Christian and Catholic painting over the last 800 years.
Pictures of the Vatican in Rome
Notable works include The Stefaneschi Triptych by Giotto di Bondone, Crowning of the Virgin, Angel Frescos and Madonna and Child by Perugino.
Raphael Madonna
Works by Raphael include The Crowning of the Virgin The Transfiguration of Christ, Madonna of Foligno by Raphael, the Last Supper Tapestries.
Vatican City Art
Other artist have works including St. Jerome by Leonardo da Vinci Madonna di Monteluce by Giovanni Penni and Giulio Romano, Deposition from the cross by Caravaggio, Martyrdom of St Erasmus by Nicolas Poussin, Garden of Eden by Peter Wenzel.
The Last Supper Tapestry
The Pinacoteca would suit those with a genuine interest in painting and its development or those who really want to see the tapestries which are used in the Sistine Chapel during conclave.
Things to see in Vatican City
The Pinacoteca is off the beaten track and the majority of people who visit the Vatican do not see it. There are numerous paintings in the Vatican usually on walls and ceilings in the Museums, in the Raphael Rooms and of course in the Sistine Chapel.
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