You'll have to be selective about these there's far too much to see in a day, but suggested routes of various lengths help you to make the most of your time. The must-sees are the Sistine Chapel (the cleaning is now finished so you can see all of it much as it was when Michelangelo finished it) and the Raphael rooms. Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the chapel (1508-12) lying on his back on a scaffold while the impatient pope harangued him from below. It shows scenes from Genesis and figures of prophets and sibyls. The ŒLast Judgement¹ is even more spectacular; its powerful images reflecting the religious torment suffered by the then ageing Michelangelo (1534-41). Don't ignore the late 15th century wall frescoes by Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, Perugino and others, depicting the lives of Moses and Christ.
Raphael started work on a suite of rooms for Julius II in 1508, but died in 1520 leaving his assistants to do most of the painting in the Constantine room (the first one you come to) and of the Fire in Borgo (the last room). Unfortunately the most famous of the paintings here (the School of Athens showing Plato and Aristotle in the presence of Renaissance greats such as Leonardo and Michelangelo) is being restored but look out for the ŒLiberation of St Peter¹, with Julius II himself taking the part of St Peter, and the figures of Aeneas and his father fleeing from the fire in the Borgo. This mixing of Classical with Christian themes was common during the Renaissance. The route to the Sistine Chapel takes you past the Museo Pio Clementine where you should try to see the 1st century ŒLaocoan¹ (showing Laocoa and his sons being dragged into the sea by serpents) the ŒBelvedere Apollo¹ (a Roman copy of a 3rd century BC Greek original) and the ŒBelvedere Torso¹, a 1st century BC work by the Greek Apollonius. Unless you're very short of time you should also go into the picture gallery (the Pinacoteca) where highlights include Caravaggio's ŒDeposition of Christ¹, Raphael's ŒTransfiguration¹ (his last work, painted in 1520) and an unfinished Leonardo of St Jerome. For those with more time there are also staggering collections of Egyptian and Etruscan art, manuscripts and modern religious art.
