Visiting the Vatican Museums in Rome and not going inside the wonderful Sistine Chapel is simply unthinkable. It is not only among the most beautiful (and visited) monuments of the Vatican, but it is a real treasure chest of wonderful works, especially the frescoes by Michelangelo Buonarroti.
Fonte: dal web
The Sistine Chapel, as a structure, is part of the Vatican Apostolic Palace, a building of over 1000 rooms that also includes the Vatican Museums and the papal apartment. It has a very interesting history and anyone who has walked through its naves has been able to live an emotional experience.
Brief history of the Sistine Chapel
The Sistine Chapel stands on the remains of the Cappella Magna at the behest of Pope Innocent III; this is the most credited hypothesis, also because the Pope in question has become famous for its numerous against heretics and for having built the hall before, that is the antechamber of the Cappella Magna.
The first room, among other things, is perfectly parallel to St Peter’s Basilica and with the future Sistine Chapel, and this is precisely what drives us to think that both were made at the behest of the Pope himself.
Fonte: dal web
The building that has come down to the present day is attributed, instead, to Pope Sixtus IV, with the aim of recovering the various monuments abandoned during the Avignon rule. As a result, the Sistine Chapel was not built from scratch, but preserving the medieval walls of the previous Cappella Magna (demolished in the fifteenth century).
The decorations of the Sistine Chapel
The works of pictorial decoration of the interiors of the Sistine Chapel began in the mid-fifteenth century: the west wall, behind the altar, was decorated by Perugino, while the vault is the work of Piermatteo d’Amelia.
Following the construction of the new Basilica of San Pietro, in the early sixteenth century the Sistine Chapel suffered major damage; despite the then architect of the palace, Bramante, try to plug the cracks, Unfortunately, the famous starry sky of d’Amelia is irreparably damaged.
Hence, the decision of Pope Julius II della Rovere to entrust Michelangelo Buonarroti with the decoration of the vault. In the mid-sixteenth century, the painter was commissioned another fresco, by Clement VII: the Last Judgment.
Fonte: dal web
The work has long been the subject of disputes and discussions between Michelangelo and the then Cardinal Carafa for the painter’s stylistic choice of inserting nudes, considered obscene. The diatribe was so heated that, at Michelangelo’s death, the Council of Trent introduced a law that censored nudity in religious art.
The interior of the Sistine Chapel
The structure of the Sistine Chapel has a rectangular base surmounted by a low barrel vault. In the intersections between the vault and the sails there are lunettes, 6 to be precise, below which there are arched windows.
The vault, as already mentioned, was made in the sixteenth century by Michelangelo and is considered a true masterpiece of Italian painting (and not only). The depictions tell the stories of Jesus and Moses before the latter received the famous tablets of the law.
Fonte: dal web
The other frescoes of the Sistine Chapel follow the rhythm of the windows that, due to their arrangement, perfectly mark the space. They can be divided into three large sections: lower, intermediate and upper. Among the most famous works it is worth remembering:
- Stories of Moses and Aaron
- The Last Judgment, Michelangelo
- Moses’ departure for Egypt, Pietro Perugino
- Trials of Moses, Sandro Botticelli
- Punishment of the rebels, Sandro Botticelli
- Temptations of Christ, Sandro Botticelli
- Vocation of the First Apostles, Domenico Ghirlandaio
- Delivery of the keys, Pietro Perugino
- Last Supper, Cosimo Rosselli
Not to forget, then, the portraits of all the pontiffs from Clement to Eutician.
Not only the frescoes, but the whole environment of the Sistine Chapel is divided by a marble barrier made by Mino da Fiesole, Andrea Bregno and Giovanni Dalmata. It is a structure that allows to divide the area destined for religious services from that reserved for the faithful.
Over the years, the position of this barrier has changed: if initially it was towards the center of the hall, today it has been moved slightly back, so that more space can be left to the papal functions.
Fonte: dal web
The supporting base of the barrier is decorated with marble bas-reliefs, where you can easily distinguish the papal coat of arms of Sixtus IV. Finally, here are the tapestries: their history has very ancient origins, since in the sixteenth century it was tradition to use them to cover the first level of the walls of the Chapel. The idea was by Pope Leo X, the drawings were by Raphael, while the realization was by Flemish artists in the workshop of the famous tapestries Pieter van Aelst.
Fonte: dal web
Today you can admire these tapestries, 4 meters high, which reproduce some stories from the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles starring Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the Pinacoteca Vaticana, room VIII.
Copertina: dal web
