Not a Boring Museum

by Praskipark on January 20, 2009

This gallery has changed very little since it was first designed in the early 1800's. It is a large arched gallery which holds on both sides over a thousand pieces of sculpture of various kinds; status of gods, friezes, pagan altars and sarcophaguses. Unfortunately, not a lot of information is displayed in the gallery but it is still worth a visit as some of the statues are amazing and some of the works mix bronze and stone together.

Braccio Nuovo is another part of the Chiarmonti museum - the new wing. Over 3,000 stone tablets and inscriptions are on display being one of the largest collections in the world of its type. One of the most interesting statues is the Colossus of the Nile. A river God is represented as a giver of blessings. The 16 boy statues allude to the number of cubits the River Nile rises to during a flood thus fertilising the region. Carvings on the base of the statue depict life on the Nile River.

At first I thought this whole gallery might have been a bit boring but it proved me wrong and I actually enjoyed it immensely

Vatican Museums
Viale Vaticano
Rome, Italy, 00165
0039 06 69884676

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