Entrance to the museumThe Vatican Museums (Musei Vaticani) are the public art and sculpture museums in the Vatican City, which display works from the extensive collection of the Roman Catholic Church. Pope Julius II founded the museums in the 16th century. The Sistine Chapel is on the visitor route through the Vatican Museums.

Staircase of the Vatican MuseumContents
1 Origins
2 Pinacoteca Vaticana
3 Contemporary art museum
4 Sculpture museums
4.1 Museo Pio-Clementino
4.2 Museo Chiaramonti
4.3 Museo Gregoriano Etrusco
4.4 Museo Gregoriano Egipcio
5 Works in the Vatican museums
6 External links

The Vatican Museums trace their origin to one marble sculpture, purchased 500 years ago. The sculpture of Laocoon, the priest who, according to Greek mythology, tried to convince the people of ancient Troy not to accept the "gift" of the Greeks' hollow horse, was discovered 14 January 1506, in a vineyard near Rome's Basilica of St. Mary Major. Pope Julius II sent Giuliano da Sangallo and Michelangelo Buonarroti, who were working at the Vatican, to check out the discovery. On their recommendation, the pope immediately purchased the sculpture from the vineyard owner. The pope put the sculpture of Laocoon and his sons in the grips of a sea serpent on public display at the Vatican exactly one month after its discovery.

Pinacoteca Vaticana
The collection was first housed in the Borgia Apartments, until Pope Pius XI ordered construction of a proper building. The designer was Luca Beltrami. The museum has works of art of painters from all Europe and all times. Such include: Michelangelo, Raphael, Fra Angelico and others.

Contemporary art museum
The contemporary museum houses paintings from artists like Carlo Carrà and Giorgio de Chirico.

Sculpture museums
The group of museums includes several sculpture museums.

Museo Pio-Clementino
Pope Clement IV founded the Pio-Clementino Vatican museum in 1771, and originally it contained the Renaissance and antique works. The museum and collection were enlarged by Clement's successor Pius VI. Today, the museum houses works of Greek and Roman sculpture.

The galleries are:
The Sala in Crux Griega:which houses the sarcophagus of Constance and Saint Helen, daughter and mother of Constantine the Great.
The Sala Rotonda: holding several ancient mosaics and statues.
The Gallery of the Statues: Houses, as says its name, important statues like Ariadne sleeping and Meandrus. It also houses the Barberini Candelabrums.
The Bust Gallery: Several busts are displayed.
The Mask Gallery: The name comes from the mosaic in the floor of the gallery, found in Villa Ariadne, which represents several masks. Along the walls, several famous statues are shown like the Three Graces.
The Muses Gallery: Houses the group statues of Apollo and the nine muses. Statues from important Greek sculptors are exhibited.
The Animal Gallery: So named because of the several statues of animals that it houses.

Museo Chiaramonti
This museum is named after Pope Pius VII Chiaramonti, who founded it in the early 1800s. The museum consists of a large arched gallery in which sides are exhibited several statues, sarcophaguses and friezes. The New Gallery, built by Raphael Stern, houses important statues like Emperor Augustus and The River Nile. Galeria Lapidaria is another part of Chiaramonti museum, with more than 3,000 stone tablets and inscriptions, which is the world's greatest collection of its kind. However, it is opened only by special permission, usually for reasons of study.

Museo Gregoriano Etrusco
Founded by Pope Gregory XIII in 1836, this museum has eight galleries and houses important Etruscan pieces, coming from archaeological excavations. The pieces include: vases, sarcophagus, bronzes and the Guglielmi Collection.

Museo Gregoriano Egipcio
Founded by Pope Gregory XVI, this museum houses a grand collection of Ancient Egyptian material. Such material includes papyruses, the Grassi Collection, animal mummies, and the famous Book of the Dead.

Works in the Vatican museums

Gallery of MapsSeveral paintings by Caravaggio including the majestic Entombment (1602 - 1603)
Leonardo da Vinci's portrait of Saint Jerome;
Works by painters Fra Angelico, Giotto, Raphael, Nicolas Poussin and Titian;
The red marble papal throne, formerly in the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano;
Roman sculpture, tombstones, and inscriptions, including the epitaph of Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus;
The massive collection of works by the master Raphael including the masterpiece The School of Athens
The Sistine Chapel
The Gallery of Maps: topographical maps of the whole of Italy, painted on the walls by friar Ignazio Danti of Perugia, commissioned by Pope Gregory XIII (1572–1585). This gallery is situated at the west side of the Belvedere Courtyard. It is 120 m long. It took Ignazio Danti three years (1580–1583) to complete the 40 panels. The decorations on the vaulted ceiling is the work of a group of Mannerist artists (such as Cesare Nebbia and Girolamo Muziano).