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Pope Julius II Della Rovere commissioned 25 year old Raphael Sanzio in 1508 to
paint the frescos in his four room apartment on the top floor. Three of the rooms
were of modest dimensions, while the fourth one was considerably larger; with
the completion of the work, the rooms became known as "The Raphael Stanze"
. They comprise the Stanza della Segnatura, the Stanza of Heliodorus, the Stanza
of the Borgo Fire and the Sala of Constantine.
The Raphael Loggia consist of 13 arches forming a gallery 65 meters long and
4 meters wide. The construction was started by Bramante in 1512, under Pope
Julius II and was completed by Raphael Sanzio under the reign of Leo X. The
pictorial work was initiated in 1517. The 52 scenes on the ceilings of the loggia
are still popularly referred as "The Raphael Bible". |
