Vatican: Small City with Great Mission

• 04.09.2018, 21:50
•  Europe,  World,  Armenia,  No-politics

Pikabu

"The small city with a great mission": It is under this slogan that the Lateran agreements were concluded in 1929 between Italy and the Holy Church, proclaiming Vatican a sovereign state, thus opening the doors to all inquisitive citizens of the world who tried to understand for centuries what was hidden in the Vatican's fortresses.

Such brilliant artists as Botticelli, Michelangelo, Raphael and Bernini lived and created in the city of Vatican. According to the estimates of collectors, the total cost of all art samples in the world's smallest state is 150 times the GDP of the whole planet. The Vatican first of all is distinguished by its sculptures. Experts say that 2/3 of the Vatican's surface is occupied by precious samples of world art and architecture. There are 1,400 galleries and 20 museums in Vatican, which store 60,000 art samples. For example, in 2013 alone, 5.5 million people visited the Vatican Museums.

All this shows that the Vatican is one of the richest countries in the world. For several centuries the works of the most famous artists and sculptors have accumulated here. In the Vatican there is a bronze statue of St. Peter, which many pilgrims want to see. The statue, authored by the Italian sculptor Arnolfo di Cambio, was created in the XIII century. The statue depicts St. Peter with a raised hand that blesses the believers. The pilgrims who come here kiss the bronze legs of the holy apostle.

Here is also ''Pieta'' by Michelangelo, which is also known as ''Lament of Christ''. This is the first work of Michelangelo Buonarroti, which he created by order of Cardinal of France Jean Bilard de Lagrola. Michelangelo signed an agreement with the cardinal, according to which he was to create a sculpture in one year, but the work lasted longer than expected. Michelangelo worked on the "Pieta" for almost two years. This is the only work of the sculptor, where his signature stands. According to some reports, Michelangelo often went to the temple to admire his creation, and one day he accidentally heard a conversation between two visitors that the author of the work was the Milanese master Gobbo, so Michelangelo decided to sign his work, writing the following: ''Created by Florentine master Michelangelo Buonarroti''. The sculpture depicts the lifeless Christ and Mary the Virgin, who mourns the death of her son. Madonna is represented as a very young and beautiful woman, who mourns the loss of the closest person.

One of the most famous monuments of the Vatican is Apollo Belvedere, which has been included in the museum collection since 1509. The author of this Roman marble is the Athenian sculptor Leohar.

The only gilded statue in the Vatican is the bronze statue of Hercules of the ancient period, which was found near the theater of Pompeii in the II century BC.

The statue of Laocoon is perhaps another most impressive sculpture of the Vatican, with the help of which we see the struggle of Laocoon and his sons against snakes. The statue was found in 1506, when a simple farmer Felice de Fredi was digging his land and accidentally noticed the marble under the ground. Fortunately, at that time ordinary workers also understood and valued art. Fredi immediately called Michelangelo and with his help brought out the sculpture from under the earth. The statue was restored by Michelangelo.

You can talk endlessly about the statues in the Vatican: their list is large enough. As you know, in the northern courtyard of the Vatican, in one of the external niches of St. Peter's Cathedral, there is also a monument of the first Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Gregory the Illuminator, which was installed in 2005. The author of the monument is the French-Armenian sculptor Khachik Kazanchyan. The marble statue has a length of 5.7 meters and weighs more than 26 tons.

In the Vatican Gardens, on April 5, the official opening of the 2-meter monument of St. Gregory of Narek took place. It should be recalled that on April 12, 2015 at St. Peter's Cathedral in the Vatican, during the Liturgy dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the Pope proclaimed St. Gregory Narek as the Doctor of the Church.