Borgia Apartments

Alexander VI had six rooms decorated by Pinturicchio and his workshop between 1492 and 1494, and they survive largely as painted: dense gilded grotesque ornament, sibyls and prophets, saints and allegories, with the Borgia bull worked through the decoration. The rooms were shut up for centuries after the pope's death and only opened to the public in 1889. Part of the modern religious art collection now shares them.

Background

The suite lies within the Apostolic Palace and has six rooms: the Sibyls, the Creed, the Liberal Arts, the Saints, the Mysteries and the Pontiffs. The Room of the Pontiffs is the oldest, built between 1277 and 1280. The rooms of the Liberal Arts, Saints and Mysteries date from 1447 to 1455, and Johannes Burchard, master of ceremonies to Alexander VI, called them the secret rooms. Pinturicchio drew on themes from medieval encyclopedias and painted the liberal arts as female figures. Cleaning of his Resurrection revealed a scene thought to be the earliest known European image of Native Americans. Since 1973 most rooms have held the Vatican Collection of Modern Religious Art, about 600 works.

Source: Wikipedia, "Borgia Apartments"

What you'll find

• The Pinturicchio frescoes - the 1490s decoration across six rooms.
• The gilded grotesques - the dense ornamental work on the vaults.
• The Borgia bull - the family device worked through the scheme.
• The 1889 opening - rooms shut for centuries before being shown.

When to go

November to March is the quietest window. The rooms are less crowded than the Raphael Rooms above. Closed on Sundays except the last of the month.

Practical notes

Lighting is deliberately low to protect the paint and detail is hard to make out. The modern art displayed in the same rooms sits awkwardly with the frescoes. Many visitors pass straight through.

Nearby

The Raphael Rooms are above, and the Sistine Chapel is south.

Key facts