Raphael Rooms

Raphael Rooms, also known as the Vatican Rooms, are four rooms that from part of the Vatican Museums in Rome. They take their name from the great painter from Urbino who painted them with his pupils.

It was Pope Julius II who commissioned Raphael to paint the four rooms at the beginning of the 16th century after being disappointed by the work of several other artists, such as Perugino.

Raphael began the work in 1508 and continued until his death in 1520. The work was completed in 1524 by his pupils and by Giulio Romano, a great collaborator of Raphael.

The four rooms are: Room of the Segnatura, Room of Heliodorus, Room of the Fire in the Borgo, Hall of Constantine.

Room of the Segnatura

It was in this room that the most important court of the Holy See met, the Segnatura Gratiae et Iustitiae, from which the room takes its name.

In this room, where Julius II lived, you can admire the most famous frescoes by Raphael.

The vault of the Room of the Segnatura represents the four branches of knowledge: Theology, Philosophy, Justice and Poetry. The three main categories of the human spirit are represented on the walls: the True, the Good and the Beautiful.

Room of Heliodorus

The Room of Heliodorus was used by Julius II for private audiences.

The frescoes in this room depict the difficult moment of the period when the papal army had just lost Bologna to the French and was threatened by foreign powers.

Raphael painted four biblical episodes on the walls: The Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple, the Mass at Bolsena, the Deliverance of Saint Peter and the The Meeting of Leo the Great and Attila.

The Room of the Fire in the Borgo

This room owes its name to the fire that broke out in 847 in the neighborhood in front of St. Peter's Basilica and was the papal dining room.

When Raphael was commissioned to paint the frescoes, Julius II had died and the new Pope Leo X decided to have him paint scenes relating to the various popes who had had the same name: Leo III and Leo IV.

Many of the frescoes in this room were created by Raphael's pupils, as the master was busy with other papal commissions such as the Sistine Chapel’s Tapestries.

Hall of Constantine

The Constantine room was frescoed by Raphael's pupils who, before his death, only succeeded in drawing the cards.

The frescoes are dedicated to the life of Constantine and symbolically represent the victory of the Church over paganism.

Constantine was the first Roman emperor to officially recognize the Christian religion by granting freedom of worship. On the walls of the room 4 episodes from the life of Constantine are told.