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| [[File::Lightmatter vaticanmuseum.jpg|200px|upright=1.14]] | |
| Established | 1503 |
|---|---|
| Location | Vatican City |
| Visitors | 4,000,000 (2006) |
| Director | Francesco Buranelli |
| Website | mv.vatican.va/StartNew_EN.html |
The Vatican Museums (Italian: Musei Vaticani) are the public art and sculpture museums in the Vatican City, which display works from the extensive collection of the Roman Catholic Church, including Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling and the Raphael Rooms. Pope Benedict XIV founded the museums in 1756, although Pope Julius II started the collection in 1503 with the Apollo Belvedere statue, and the first reference to an art collection in the Vatican Library dates back to the prefecture of Marcello Cervini, who would in 1555 become Pope Marcellus II. The number of visitors has increased over recent years; in 2005, 3.8 million people toured the museums. In 2006, that figure had risen to more 4.3 million, and the Vatican grossed US$65 million.[1]