Pio Clementino Museum

Back in the day, the primary collection of classical sculpture belonging to Pope Julius II (1503-1513) was contained within the Cortile delle Statue, which we currently know today as the Octagonal Court. At a later point in time, specifically during the latter part of the 18th century, there was a significant increase in the size of the pontifical collections that took place.

This was due in part to all of the excavations that were going on in Rome and Lazio, as well as the contributions that were made by both collectors and antiquaries. The public creation of a museum dedicated to preserving ancient art and encouraging study can be attributed to the influence of Enlightenment ideals.

This institution, known as Pio Clementino, was named after two popes, Clement XIV Ganganelli and Pius VI Braschi, who were in charge of its establishment during their respective papacies in the late 18th century. To accommodate the museum's exhibits, a series of large exhibition halls were created by renovating and expanding upon existing rooms in and around the Innocent VIII Belvedere Palace. Under the directive of Alessandro Dori, Michelangelo Simonetti and Giuseppe Camporese, the architecture of the area took on a neo-classical form, complemented with the contributions of numerous painters and decorators. Here, antique works of sculpture are frequently restored to hide missing pieces, and ancient Roman relics have found a home.

Thanks to Antonio Canova's diplomacy, the majority of Papal States' Museum treasures were restored after Napoleon's victory and Treaty of Tolentino (1797) demanded they relinquish their crown jewels. The stolen masterpieces ended up in Paris until the fall of Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna (1815).