Raphael Rooms

Julius II gave Raphael the job of decorating four rooms of the papal apartments in 1508, and the painter and his workshop worked on them for sixteen years, past Raphael's own death in 1520. The School of Athens is in the second of them, on the wall opposite the Disputation of the Sacrament. The rooms sit on the standard route through the museums shortly before the Sistine Chapel.

Background

The rooms were first planned as an apartment for Pope Julius II. They lie on the second floor of the Apostolic Palace, directly above the Borgia Apartment, and look onto the southern side of the Belvedere Courtyard. From east to west they are the Hall of Constantine, the Room of Heliodorus, the Room of the Signatura and the Fire in the Borgo room. When Julius died in 1513, two rooms were finished, and Pope Leo X kept the work going. After 1520 Raphael's assistants Giulio Romano, Gianfrancesco Penni and Raffaellino del Colle completed the frescoes in the Hall of Constantine, the largest of the rooms.

Source: Wikipedia, "Raphael Rooms"

What to look for

• The School of Athens - the assembled philosophers under a coffered vault.
• The Disputation - the theological scene facing it across the room.
• The Fire in the Borgo - the later room largely executed by the workshop.
• The sixteen-year span - work continuing past the painter's death.

When to go

November to March is the quietest window. Early morning or late afternoon is least crowded. Closed on Sundays except the last of the month.

Good to know

The crowd moving toward the Sistine Chapel pushes through these rooms and stopping is difficult. There is no seating. Guides talking over each other make it loud.

Nearby

The Sistine Chapel is south, and the Borgia Apartments are below.

Key facts