Vatican City, Italy (Enclave of Rome): Vatican Museums: Pio Clementino Museum: Gallery of the Candelabra: Ceiling Frescoes 2

Abstract

The photo is of the ceiling frescoes in the Gallery of the Candelabra, Pio Clementino Museum, which is part of the Vatican Museums. These are public museums that display about 20,000 of 70K works collected by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries. The museums were founded by Pope Julius II in the early 16th century. Only the Louvre in France receives more annual visitors than the Vatican Museums. The museums consist of 24 galleries, with the Sistine Chapel being the last room visited. The Pio Clementino Museum is the largest complex of the Vatican Museums. It is named after its founders, Pope Clement XIV and Pope Pius VI. Its twelve rooms contain the most important Greek and Roman masterpieces. The Gallery of the Candelabra is a magnificent hallway of ancient Greek and Roman art: statues, reliefs, sarcophagi, and candelabra. The ceiling frescoes were painted in the late 19th century and depict events from the time of Pope Leo XIII, who headed the Catholic Church from 1878 to 1903. The dove at the top of the central fresco is commonly used to depict the Holy Spirit.