The Vatican Museums showcase a 3D rendition of the various museums and significant locations within the Vatican City. The tours are strictly visual, however that is not much of a problem as you get to view the beautiful art and architecture of some of the Vatican City's most important locations. There are a total of fourteen observable 'museums.' These virtual rooms range from genuine museums such as the Profane Museum to the Sistine chapel and everything inbetween. The many halls and galleries of the Vatican are available for viewing.
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| The many viewing options of the site |
I took a tour around the so called "Raphael's Rooms," which I assumed were dubbed so because Raphael was commissioned to paint and sculpt for the Vatican in those rooms. In the second room I noticed one of, if not Raphael's most famous work, The School of Athens. Raphael's Rooms were beautiful. They are covered in paintings from the walls to the ceilings, and sculptures line the rooms. This is just one of the rooms available for viewing, I imagine the others are of a similar cut of beauty.
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| School of Athens(Raphael) |
Following my tour of Raphael's Rooms, I moved onto the Sistine chapel, which may be the most visited of all of the Vatican museums. The Sistine Chapel was attended by Michelangelo, who took years(four years) to paint it in its entirety, Most notably, the Chapel ceiling showcases imagery of the book of Genesis, with the creation of Adam in the middle. The image below may look very strained, and it is, however, I believe that the strain showcases just how much paint is covering the walls and ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The room really is completely covered by scenes from the Bible and it is quite beautiful.
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Sistine Chapel ceiling
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Looking through these rooms I couldn't help but think to myself how nice it would be to go and visit the Vatican, so see all of these rooms, halls, galleries, and chapels in person. however, I begun to think that in person these places would be MOBBED! While I still would like to visit the Vatican, this site allows for the viewer to not have to worry about hundreds of people taking away from the moment and clogging space. Through this site, many people all over the
world have access to the beautiful and stunning art of the many museums of the Vatican without the crowding of being there in person.