The Sala Regia (Regal Room) is a state hall in the

Apostolic Palace The Apostolic Palace is the official residence of the Pope, the head of the Catholic Church, located in Vatican City. It is also known as the Papal Palace, the Palace of the Vatican and the Vatican Palace. The Vatican itself refers to the build ...

Vatican City Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (; ), is a Landlocked country, landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and Bishop of Rome, seat of the Catholic Church. It became inde ...

. Although not intended as such, this broad room is really an antechamber to the

Sistine Chapel The Sistine Chapel ( ; ; ) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the pope's official residence in Vatican City. Originally known as the ''Cappella Magna'' ('Great Chapel'), it takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, who had it built between 1473 and ...

. It also connects to the Pauline Chapel and is reached by the long staircase known as the Scala Regia. To the left of the entrance formerly stood the papal

throne A throne is the seat of state of a potentate or dignitary, especially the seat occupied by a sovereign (or viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory ...

, which is now at the opposite side before the door leading to the Pauline Chapel. Apostolischer Palast - Sixtinische Kapelle - Grundriss

The hall was begun under

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III (; ; born Alessandro Farnese; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death, in November 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era follo ...

Antonio da Sangallo the Younger Antonio da Sangallo the Younger (12 April 14843 August 1546), also known as Antonio Cordiani, was an Italian architect active during the Renaissance, mainly in Rome and the Papal States. One of his most popular projects that he worked on des ...

and was completed in 1573. The elegant

barrel vault A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault, wagon vault or wagonhead vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance. The curves are ...

is graced by the very impressive

plaster Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "re ...

decorations of Perino del Vaga. The

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

ornaments An ornament is something used for decoration. Ornament may also refer to: Decoration *Ornament (art), any purely decorative element in architecture and the decorative arts *Ornamental turning *Biological ornament, a characteristic of animals tha ...

over the doors are by

Daniele da Volterra Daniele Ricciarelli (; 15094 April 1566), better known as Daniele da Volterra (, ), was a Mannerism, Mannerist List of Italian painters, Italian painter and sculpture, sculptor. He is best remembered for his association with Michelangelo. Sev ...

. By 2019, the room and staircase were open to tourists who visit the Apostolic Palace. The walls were decorated by

Livio Agresti Livio Agresti (1508–1580), also called Ritius or Ricciutello, was an Italy, Italian painter of the late Renaissance or Mannerism, Mannerist period, active both in his native city of Forlì and in Rome, where he died. He was one of the members of ...

Giorgio Vasari Giorgio Vasari (30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance painter, architect, art historian, and biographer who is best known for his work ''Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects'', considered the ideol ...

and

Taddeo Zuccari Taddeo Zuccaro (or Zuccari) (1 September 15292 September 1566) was an Italian painter, one of the most popular members of the Roman mannerist school. Biography Zuccaro was born in Sant'Angelo in Vado, near Urbino, the son of Ottaviano Zuccaro, ...

. The frescoes depict momentous turning-points in the history of the Church, including the return of

Pope Gregory XI Pope Gregory XI (; born Pierre Roger de Beaufort; c. 1329 – 27 March 1378) was head of the Catholic Church from 30 December 1370 to his death, in March 1378. He was the seventh and last Avignon pope and the most recent French pope. In 1377, ...

from

Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, the

Battle of Lepanto The Battle of Lepanto was a naval warfare, naval engagement that took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League (1571), Holy League, a coalition of Catholic states arranged by Pope Pius V, inflicted a major defeat on the fleet of t ...

, three panels narrating events surrounding the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre, the raising of the ban from Henry IV, the reconciliation of

Pope Alexander III Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181. A native of Siena, Alexander became pope after a Papal election, ...

with

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...

and

Peter II of Aragon Peter II the Catholic (; ) (July 1178 – 12 September 1213) was the King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona from 1196 to 1213. Background Peter was born in Huesca, the son of Alfonso II of Aragon and Sancha of Castile, Queen of Aragon, Sancha ...

offering the Kingdom to

Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III (; born Lotario dei Conti di Segni; 22 February 1161 – 16 July 1216) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 until his death on 16 July 1216. Pope Innocent was one of the most power ...

. The hall was originally used for the reception of

prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

s and royal

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

s, hence its name. Consistories were held in it, but were later transferred to the

Saint Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (; ), is a church of the Italian Renaissance architecture, Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the cit ...

on November 19, 2016, and the area has also housed occasional musical recitals in the presence of the

pontiff In Roman antiquity, a pontiff () was a member of the most illustrious of the colleges of priests of the Roman religion, the College of Pontiffs."Pontifex". "Oxford English Dictionary", March 2007 The term ''pontiff'' was later applied to any h ...

; during a

conclave A conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to appoint the pope of the Catholic Church. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. Concerns around ...

it was used as a

promenade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortification, fortress or city walls ...

for the

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

Gallery

File:Taddeo zuccari, Carlo Magno conferma la donazione di Ravenna alla Chiesa, 1564-65, 02.jpg, ''

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

confirms the Donation of Ravenna'' by

File:Francesco salviati e giuseppe porta detto il salviatino, Riconciliazione di papa Alessandro III e Federico Barbarossa, 1565-75, 01.jpg, ''Submission of

before

during the signing of the Treaty of Venice'' by Giuseppe Salviati and

Giuseppe Porta Giuseppe Porta (1520–1575), also known as Giuseppe Salviati, was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance period, active mostly in Venice. Biography Caterina d’Alessandria con i Santi Gerolamo, Giovanni Battista, Giacomo Apostolo San Fr ...

File:Livio agresti, Pietro d'Aragona offre il regno a papa Innocenzo III, 1561-63, 03.jpg, ''King

offers his kingdom to

'' by

File:Giorgio vasari, gregorio xi torna a roma da avignone, 1572-73, 01.jpg, ''

returns to Rome from Avignon'' by

Vasari Giorgio Vasari (30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance painter, architect, art historian, and biographer who is best known for his work '' Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects'', considered the ide ...

File:Giorgio vasari e aiuti, la battaglia di lepanto, 1572-73, 01.jpg, ''

'' by

File:Giorgio vasari, prima storia della notte di san bartolomeo, 1573, 03 ammiraglio gaspard ferito.jpg, '' Admiral Coligny is wounded before Massacre of St Bartholemew'' by Vasari File:Giorgio vasari, seconda storia della notte di san bartolomeo, 1573, 01.jpg, ''Defenestration of Coligny and Massacre of St Bartholemew'' by Vasari File:Sala regia, 03.jpg, Paintings and Marble on northern wall File:Perin del vaga, volta della Sala regia 02.jpg, Ceiling stuccos by

Perin del Vaga Piero Bonaccorsi (1501 – October 19, 1547), known as Perino (or Perin) del Vaga, was an Italian painter and draughtsman of the Late Renaissance/Mannerism. Biography Perino was born near Florence. His father ruined himself by gambling, and b ...

References

;Attribution *

External links

The Vatican: spirit and art of Christian Rome
a book from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Sala Regia (pp. 126–127) * {{Vatican City topics Apostolic Palace Individual rooms Vatican Museums

Gallery

See also

References

External links