The Sistine Chapel
Raphael's
School of Athens
Raphael's
Disputation
Fra
Angelico & the Chapel of Nicholas V
Augustus
of Prima Porta
The
Casina of Pius IV
The
Carriage Museum
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Recent Restorations |
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The Carriage
Museum, a section of the Historical
Museum, was set up by Paul VI in 1973. It houses a collection of carriages and automobiles
used by popes and cardinals. It also contains a small model of the first locomotive
that entered the Vatican City on the railway built in accordance with the 1929 Lateran
Pacts. The restoration of the carriages is due to the generosity of
the patrons of the Florida Chapter.
- Black landaus carriage,the
pope’s means of transport on non-ceremonial occasions, used until the early years of
the papacy of Pius XI.
- Gala Berlin carriage of
Cardinal Lucien Louis Bonaparte (1829-95), cousin of Napoleon III; it bears a brass
coat-of-arms with the Napoleonic eagle.
- Two “terza gala”
berlin carriages (including thrones)
- The papal means of transport
also includes the sedan-chairs. The one upholstered in red
damask was built for Leo XIII, and was also used by his successors. The wooden sedan
chair, never used, was presented to Leo XIII, on the 50th anniversary of his priesthood.
- In the final section of the
Museum there are three cars used by recent popes: a Graham Paige
(1929), a Citroen (1930) and a Mercedes Benz (1930), which was used by Pius XII.
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