MUSEO PIO CLEMENTINO
Museum dedicated to Roman antiquities, in the Belvedere Palace.
Named after Popes Clement XIV and Pius VI who founded it, it occupies the Belvedere Palace, which is entered through Room 12. The first works were collected at the time of Julius II, at the beginning of the 16th century. Dedicated to Roman antiquities, especially sculptures, most of which are Roman copies of Greek originals. The collection contains real masterpieces that were ceded to France in 1797 and recovered following the Congress of Vienna in 1815. It is one of the most visited museums on the site.
Octagon Court. In the centre of the Belvedere Palace, an octagonal atrium houses some of the most famous works, including the Laocoon and his sons dying suffocated by a snake and the famous Apollo of the Belvedere, who long fascinated later sculptors. There are also two works by Canova purchased by Pius VII.
Animal Room. There are many statues of animals, as well as some beautiful antique mosaics and especially a statue of the god Mithra sacrificing a bull.
Statues gallery. In the gallery of statues, the most beautiful is the Venus of Cnidus, a Roman copy of a work by Praxiteles. It was said to be the first statue representing a completely naked woman, and it was a scandal. See also Sleeping Ariadne, from the 2nd century, typical of Hellenistic expressionism.
Greek Cross Room. Enter the so-called Greek cross room containing the sarcophagi of Constantine, Helen, his mother, and Constantine, his daughter. Three works from the 4th century.
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