The Istituto Enciclopedia Italiana Treccani has published a monumental new work covering the entire art and antiquities collection of the Vatican Museums. In two volumes of 850 pages each, illustrated with 1,500 full colour plates, and curated by Museum director Antonio Paolucci, this is the most prestigious and complete publication ever compiled documenting the 28 sections of the vast museum complex within the Holy See.
The first nucleus of the Vatican collection dates from 1506, when the Laocoonte sculpture group was discovered and set up by Pope Julius II in the Belvedere. Successive Popes built on, adding their own galleries and exhibits, up to the present day with the Collection of Modern Religious Art inaugurated by Pope Paul VI. The result is the biggest and most celebrated museum collection in the world, visited by approximately four and a half million people every year.
The launch of the ROMA, VATICAN MUSEUMS books marks the 150 th anniversary of the Unification of Italy and follows a series of similar publications by the Treccani Encyclopaedia documenting the Italian art cities of Venice, Florence, Palermo, Bologna and Pompeii.
