International Museum Day 2024: 10 secrets of the Vatican Museums

Every May 18, International Museum Day is celebrated. For this reason, we collect some of the curiosities of one of the largest art collections in the world, the Vatican Museums.

1. Its large size

It is known as the “Museum of museums” as it contains the largest collection of art in the world. It is located within Vatican City.

Its long corridors and rooms with 9 million pieces of art They represent a total of 15 km, traveled by more than 15 million people a year.

It is said that the set of his works could cover more than four times all the walls of the Vatican.

2. Its origins

These Museums were born with the private works of Julius II, who, upon being elected Pope in 1503, moved his collection to the Octagonal Courtyard.

Among the first works is the Apollo of Belvedere, the Venere Felice, the sleeping Ariadne and the group of Laocoön and his children.

Pope Julius II had the statue “Laocoön and his sons” authenticated and later acquired it. This sculpture was one of the first to be part of the exhibition at the Pío Clementino Museum, which was founded in 1771 by Pope Clement XIV.

3. They prohibited a visit to Hitler

During the coronavirus pandemic, the Vatican Museums closed their doors to the public. However, it was not the first time this had happened.

In May 1938, when Adolf Hitler arrived in Rome as a guest of King Victor Emmanuel III and Benito Mussolini, Pope Pius XI he did not want to receive it and, to avoid it, he moved to the town of Castel Gandolfo for a few days.

The then Pope ordered that both the Museum and St. Peter’s Basilica be closed to prevent the dictator from visiting both places.

4. From the Vatican to the moon

A curious fact that not many know is that a Vatican flag traveled to the Moon on Apollo 11. The Vatican Museums house this small flag with some fragments of the lunar surface.

It was the then president of the United States, Richard Nixon, who gave this insignia to the Vatican, and next to it is a plaque where it can be read: “This flag traveled to the Moon and returned on Apollo 11, and some fragments of the lunar surface were brought to earth by the first crew to reach the Moon.”

5. Figs or apples?

Michelangelo’s accuracy and thoroughness in the creation of the Sistine Chapel is well known. In fact, the tree from which Eve picks the forbidden fruit is not an apple tree, but instead you can see the leaves of a fig tree.

It should be noted that in the book of Genesis it is not mentioned that the fruit tasted by Eve and Adam was an apple, a fact disclosed due to an error in the translation of the term malus-malum (bad fruit) for apple.

In the Genesis text the type of fruit (tappuach) does not specify what Eve took. However, it is later said that, upon discovering her nakedness, Adam and Eve cover themselves with fig leavesand that is why some traditions maintain that the forbidden fruit was the fig.

6. A hidden message

Michelangelo initially rejected the Sistine Chapel commission because of the magnitude of the work and because he believed his rivals expected to see him fail.

The artist finally painted a total of 460 square meters of the Sistine Chapel. The Creation of Adam, located in the vault of this chapel, is one of the best-known paintings in the world, studied by experts around the world for decades.

In 2010, two neuroanatomists from the United States prepared a report in which they indicated that behind the figures of God and angels in this fresco, the author hid a message.

According to experts, Adam’s creation offers an exact representation of the human brain. The arrangement of the figure of God next to the angels seems to form the structure of the brain and the spinal column, as a symbol of the intelligence given from God to men.

7. A secret passage

One part of the Museum is the so-called Passetto di Borgo, a passageway that connects with Castel Sant’Angelo.

Pope Clement VII was able to escape through this passage from the soldiers of Emperor Charles V who intended to end his life when entering Vatican City in 1527.

8. The Museum Keeper

Gianni Crea is in charge of opening all the doors and rooms of the Vatican Museums every morning. It uses a total of 2,797 keys.

Furthermore, during a conclave he is responsible for closing all access to the Sistine Chapel to ensure secrecy in the election of the Pontiff.

He keeps the key in a closed chest that he gives to the Gendarmerie, who returns it to Gianni to open the doors once there is white smoke and the new Pope has been elected.

9. The “Room of Tears”

There is a room inside the Sistine Chapel called the “Room of Tears” (Crying room).

It is located to the left of the altar, under the Last Judgment, and receives this name because the new Pope, once chosen, you are led to this small room before going out to greet the faithful waiting for him in St. Peter’s Square.

10. Four years of a life

It is estimated that if a person Take a minute to see each work of these Museums, you will need 4 whole years of your life.