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HISTORY OF THE VATICAN MUSEUMS
The Vatican Museums collection “officially” began in 1506, when Pope Julius II purchased the Laocoön, an ancient
Greek sculpture depicting a Trojan priest and his sons being strangled by sea serpents, their punishment for trying
to warn Troy about the Trojan Horse. The sculpture was put on public display, and the tradition of sharing Papal artistic
treasures with the public was born. Over the years, the Vatican collections grew to more than 70,000 works of art,
fewer than half of which are on display in the museums’ more than 1,400 galleries, halls and chapels. It is one
of the oldest and most-visited museums in the world and is also considered one of the world’s largest museums.
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