The Vatican palaces form one of the most magnificent monumental architectural complexes in the world. Their construction began in the fourteenth century with the aim of to create a papal residence worthy of their high status. The original papal residence was in Lateran, then it was moved to Avignon. Gregory XI was the first pope to settle in the Vatican; his successors continued the expansion and improvement of the palace complex. Thus, under Pope Alexander V in 1410, a "corridor" was built to connect the palace with the castle of Sant'Angelo castle.
But the greatest contribution to the construction and formation of the complex of luxurious palaces was made by Pope Nicholas V. The heart of the complex is, without doubt, the square building surrounding the Pappagallo (parrot) Courtyard, which has been worked on by such famous architects as The heart of the complex is undoubtedly the square building surrounding the Palazzo Pappagallo (Parrot's Palace), which was designed by such famous architects as Leon Battista Alberti and Bernardo Rossellino. The Niccolina Chapel, dedicated to St Stephen and St Lorenzo, is decorated with frescoes by Fra Angelico. frescoes by Fra Angelico.
The world-famous Sistine Chapel was created between 1473 and 1480 under the reign of Pope Sixtus IV. Its author was the architect Giovanni de Dolci, who used the former Palatine Chapel for this purpose. the former Palatine Chapel for this purpose. Pope Innocent VIII instructed to build a small palace for himself, the Palazzetto, on the highest point of the Belvedere gardens. of the Belvedere. The palace became very famous for the paintings of Andrea Mantegna, which were lost during the remodelling of the palace undertaken by the by the architect Bramante and later in the construction of the Museo del Pio Clementino during the reign of Pope Pius VI. during the reign of Pope Pius VI.
When Pope Alexander VI settled in the palace of Nicholas V, work was again begun on the extension of the papal palace. work to enlarge the papal court, which culminated in the erection of the Borgia Tower Borgia Tower, named after the family to which the pope belonged. But the most major transformations took place at the same time as large-scale urban planning undertaken by the patron pope Julius II, who commissioned Bramante to realise a project to link the palaces of Nicholas V and Innocent VII. Innocent VII. This project resulted in the Belvedere Court, the perspective of which is closed by Pyrrho Lirro's niche. which is covered by a niche by Pirro Ligorio (1560), which replaced the exedra with two staircases made by Brahmante. two staircases by Bramante.
To him also belongs the design of the Loggias of the Court of San Damaso, which were completed and decorated with frescoes by with frescoes by Raphael. Thanks to these transformations, the façade of the papal palace now faces Piazza Sant'Petra. faces St Peter's Square. Also during the reign of Pope Julius II, between 1509-1512. 1509-1512, Michelangelo frescoed the vault of the Sistine Chapel, and Raphael in 1508 in the Sistine Chapel. Raphael in 1508 began painting the Stanzas (state rooms), finishing this work in 1524.
After the brutal sacking of Rome, which in some ways halted the Julius II's grandiose project to reconstruct the city, work in the Vatican palaces were resumed under Pope Paul III, who commissioned the the architect Antonio da Sangallo the Younger to build the Paolina Chapel, the Sala Ducale and the Sala Regia. Michelangelo, commissioned to paint the Paolina Chapel, continued to work on the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel.
The heyday of the Baroque coincided with the reign of Pope Sixtus V and is associated with the architect Domenico Fontana, who designed the present-day Pope's residence, and the Belvedere was "cut through" by the Transverse Court (now the site of the Sistine Hall of the Biblioteca Sistine Hall of the Library). In the seventeenth century, under Pope Urban VIII, the construction of the famous L'Ligue d'Or began under the design of Bernini. Bernini began the construction of the famous Staircase of Regia (Scala Regia), as well as the Paolina Halls in the Bibliotheca Biblioteca. Paolina Halls in the Library and Archives.
The next century saw great transformations in the creation of the museums of the Vatican City. Thus the Museum of Ecclesiastical Art (Museo Sacro) and the Museum of Museum of Secular Art (Museo Profano), adjacent to the Library; the Museo Pio-Clementino, designed by Michelangelo Simonetti and Giuseppe Camporese (1771-1793); the Museo Pio-Clementino, designed by Michelangelo Simonetti and Giuseppe Camporese (1771-1793). The Museo Chiaramonti, associated with Antonio Canova (1806-1810); a new building, the Braccio Nuovo, designed by Raphael Stern under Pope Pius VII.
In the twentieth century, at the initiative of Pope Pius XII, archaeological research was carried out under St Peter's Cathedral. archaeological research was carried out, and under Pope John XXIII, the construction of new rooms to house the museum collection was begun. construction of new rooms to house the collection of the Lateran Palace Museum.
