 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
| I then headed to the Vatican Museums at 7:00PM that I had been looking forward to the most in the Vatican. Here, too, I saw the long lines for admission to the Museums. It was good that I had reserved a ticket on their web so I didn't have to wait in the queue to get into the Museums. | At a first glance, I thought this would be an entrance to the Museums, but it is now used as an exit. Above this doorway are sculptures of Michelangelo and Raphael, designed by Pietro Malendri. On the left is Michelangelo with a mallet in his hand, and on the right is Raphael with his palette and brush. |
 |
 |
| The minute I entered the Museums, I saw this spiral staircase which instantly reminded me of Guggenheim Museum in New York, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. I took an escalator right next to it so I could save up my energy for great masterpieces of paintings and sculptures I was about to see. | At the center of the Vatican Museums is a vast courtyard called Pigna. I felt as if I had slipped into another world with a lethargic ambience as dusk was falling. |
 |
 |
And at the center of the courtyard is this golden globe sculpture. |
Another work of art in the courtyard that caught my attention was this colossal head of Caesar Augustus, the first emperor of Rome. It is said that it was originally part of a statue in Egypt. |
