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WALKING TOURS OF ROME

The Borgia Apartment

26/2/2020

 
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Portrait of Pope Alexander VI in the fresco of the Resurrection by Pinturicchio, Borgia Apartment, Vatican Museums, Rome
Portrait of Pope Alexander VI in the fresco of the Resurrection by Pinturicchio

The Borgia Apartment is a suite of six rooms in the Apostolic Palace of the Vatican. The rooms were used by Pope Alexander VI Borgia (r. 1492-1503) during his pontificate. 

The suite is made up of the Sala dei Misteri (Room of the Mysteries), the Sala dei Santi (Room of the Saints), the Sala delle Arti Liberali (Room of the Liberal Arts), the Sala del Credo (Room of the Creed), the Sala delle Sibille (Room of the Sibyls) and the Sala dei Pontefici (Room of the Popes).  

Five of the six rooms were decorated with frescoes by the Perugian artist Bernardino di Betto (1454-1513), better known as Il Pinturicchio (the little painter). 
With the support of a team of artists, Pinturicchio completed the frescoes in little over a year, between the autumn of 1492 and the beginning of 1494. Speed of execution was one of the qualities for which he was particularly praised.  

In the painting of the Resurrection, in the Sala dei Misteri, the pope becomes a witness to the event. Dressed in a jewel-encrusted cope, he kneels, hands in prayer, in adoration. The pope is portrayed bare-headed, his tiara resting on the ground. 

The Borgia Apartment was abandoned after Alexander VI's death when Pope Julius II (r. 1503-13) refused to use rooms that had been occupied by his hated predecessor. 

The Resurrection by Pinturicchio, Borgia Apartment, Vatican Museums, Rome
The Resurrection by Pinturicchio
Room of the Saints, Borgia Apartment, Vatican Museums, Rome
Room of the Saints
Disputation of St Catherine by Pinturicchio, Borgia Apartments, Vatican Museums, Rome
The Disputation of St Catherine of Alexandria
The Annunciation, fresco by Pinturicchio, Borgia Apartment, Vatican Museums, Rome
The Annunciation

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    My name is David Lown and I am an art historian from Cambridge, England. Since 2001 I have lived in Italy, where I run private and
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  • Home
  • Private Tours
  • Contact
  • Rome
  • St Peter's Basilica
    • Altars >
      • Altar of St Joseph
      • Altar of St Gregory the Great
      • Altar of the Madonna of Succour
      • Altar of St Sebastian
      • Altar of the Lie
      • Altar of the Presentation of the Virgin
      • Altar of St Jerome
      • Altar of the Transfiguration
      • Altar of Pope Leo the Great
    • Monuments >
      • Countess Matilda of Canossa
      • Maria Clementina Sobieska
      • Queen Christina of Sweden
      • Pope Innocent VIII
      • Pope Paul III
      • Pope Gregory XIII
      • Pope Gregory XIV
      • Pope Leo XI
      • Pope Urban VIII
      • Pope Alexander VII
      • Pope Clement X
      • Pope Innocent XI
      • Pope Alexander VIII
      • Pope Innocent XII
      • Pope Benedict XIV
      • Pope Clement XIII
      • Pope Pius VII
      • Pope Leo XII
      • Pope Pius VIII
      • Pope Gregory XVI
      • Pope Pius X
      • Pope Benedict XV
      • Pope Pius XI
      • Pope Pius XII
      • Pope John XXIII
      • The Stuarts
    • Portico >
      • Door of Death
      • Door of Good and Evil
      • Central Door
      • Door of the Sacraments
      • Holy Door
    • Pieta
    • Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament
    • Cathedra Petri
    • Crossing >
      • Baldacchino
      • Confessio
      • Dome
      • St Longinus
      • St Helena
      • St Veronica
      • St Andrew
    • St Peter
    • Chapel of the Choir
    • Chapel of the Baptistery
    • Nave
  • Sistine Chapel
    • North Wall
    • South Wall
    • East Wall
    • Ceiling: Part One >
      • Ceiling: Part Two
      • Ceiling: Part Three
    • The Last Judgement
  • Fountains
    • Trevi Fountain
    • Fontana della Barcaccia
    • Fountain of the Triton
    • Fountain of the Bees
    • Fountain of Moses
    • Fountain of the Four Rivers
    • Fountain of the Acqua Paola
    • Fountain of the Turtles
    • Fountain of the Naiads
    • Fountain of the Cannonball
    • Piazza del Popolo
    • Fountain of the Pantheon
    • Fountains of Piazza Farnese
    • Fountain of Goddess Roma
    • Rioni Fountains
    • Street Fountains
    • Venice Marries the Sea
    • St Peter's Square
    • Fountain of the Moor
    • Fountain of Neptune
    • Fountain of the Porter
    • Fountain of the Seahorses
  • Gallery
    • Piazzas >
      • Piazza del Campidglio
      • Piazza del Quirinale
      • Piazza del Popolo
      • Piazza di Spagna
      • Piazza Navona
      • Piazza S. M. in Trastevere
      • Piazza San Pietro
    • Mosaics
    • Fountains
    • Churches
    • Ancient Rome
    • Palaces
    • Domes
    • Papal Coats of Arms
    • Street Shrines
    • Old Photographs
    • Borromini & the Baroque
  • Images of the Eternal City