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The Vatican is an independent state of Europe under the sovereignty of the Holy See through the authority of the Pope ofthe Catholic Church who exercises the powers of an absolute monarch.Enclaves in the territory of the Italian Republic, is included in the urban fabric of Rome, near the right bank of the Tiber on the Vatican hill and with an area of just 0.44 kilometers ², is the smallest independent state in the world, both in terms of population and land mass.The State of the Church which for nearly a millennium had spread over much of central Italy, forming the territorial basis of the temporal power of the Popes, was finally occupied in 1870 (September 20), when the Bersaglieri penetrated into Rome through the breach of Porta Pia. The annexation of Rome to the Kingdom and the proclamation in his capital, meant the end of temporal power. The then Pope Pius IX gave no consent at the time, and then, despite the Law of Guarantees wished to maintain its independence and ensure the continuation of its spiritual and religious mission, he considered himself a prisoner |
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The Vatican Museums are located in Viale Vaticano Rome, inside the Vatican City, and are the largest art collections in the world, expose the enormous collection of art works accumulated over the centuries by Popes.
The museum was founded by Pope Julius II in the sixteenth century. The Sistine Chapel and the papal apartments, frescoed by Raphael, are among the works that the museum visitors can admire in their path. The Capitoline Museums are divided between the Palace of the Conservatives and |
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The Sistine Chapel‘s name come from Pope Sixtus IV della Rovere (Pope from 1471 to 1484) that restored the ancient Cappella Magna between 1477 and 1480. The fifteenth-century decoration of the walls includes: the false drapes, the Stories of Moses and Christ and the portraits of the Popes. It was performed by a team of painters started with Pietro Perugino, Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Cosimo Rosselli, assisted by some of is closest collaborators among which Biagio di Antonio, Bartolomeo della Gatta and Luca Signorelli. In the roof Pier Matteo d'Amelia painted a starry sky. The execution of the frescoes began in 1481 and was completed in 1482. Of this time also the following works in marble: the barrier, the choir (when the singers took their places), and the papal coat of arms above the door. On August 15, 1483 Sixtus IV consecrated the new chapel dedicated to the Assumption. Julius II della Rovere (Pope from 1503 to 1513), nephew of Sixtus IV, decided to modify some part of the decoration, entrusting the task in 1508 to Michelangelo Buonarroti, who painted the ceiling and the lunette in top of the walls. In October 1512 the work was done and the All Saints' Day (November 1) Julius II inaugurated the Sistine Chapel with a solemn mass. In the nine central panels are depicted the stories of Genesis from the Creation to the Fall of man, the Flood and the subsequent rebirth of mankind with the family of Noah.
The basilica of St. Peter's is a Catholic basilica of the Vatican City, crowning the magnificent Piazza San Pietro.
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Rome - Vatican City
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