VATICAN
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VATICAN
of bishops, when (as rarely happens) this is under-
taken by the pope, or is used for the accommodation
of specified divisions of the papal household, when the
pope holds a consistory in the Sala Regia, proceeds to
the Sistine Chapel, or sets out with great solemnity for
St. Peter's. C. The Sala dei Paramenli lies a little
to the left of the Sala Ducale, and adjoins immediately
the Loggie of Giovanni da Udine. It receives its
name from the fact that the pope assumes the pontif-
ical vestments in one room of this suite before attend-
ing Divine service in the Cappella Sistina. The
Sacred College assembles in another room to accom-
pany the pope. Both rooms, which are not accessible
to the public, are decorated with tapestries of beauti-
ful colour, the walls are overarched with red damask,
and the ceiling richly gilt. Here the members of the
papal court assemble for breakfast after receiving their
EasterCommunion from the pope(see above, sectionV).
D. The Sala Clementina is a gigantic hall, two stories high, situated on the second floor, at the entrance to the papal apartments, and reached by the Scala Nobile. At the rear of this haU a division of the Swiss Guard is posted. The doors to the right lead to the apartments of the pope, those on the left to the Loggie, and those in the rear immediately to the Consistorial Hall. The magnificent marble wain- scoting is over six feet; above it rise bold ornamental frescoes of splendid perspective, extending along the rounded ceiling. From the middle of the ceiUng hangs a colossal chandelier, whose green patina com- bines wonderfully with the whole harmony of colours. Frequent repetitions of the coat of arms of Clement VIII, the builder of the hall, have been arranged by the artist with excellent taste. This great hall serves to-day as a waiting-room, as a vesting-room in the case of great receptions in the Consistorial HaU, and on rare occasions for the reception of pilgrimages or large deputations. E. The Sala Concistoriale. — The long but rather narrow Consistorial Hall lies behind the Sala Clementina, and behind the Ante- camera bassa to the right of that Sala. Erected by Clement XIII, it is employed for secret consistories, for official sessions under the presidency of the pope (postulations and the like), as well as for solemn recep- tions. The poor light afforded by the northern ex- posure of the room is still further reduced by dark red hangings on the walls. Some large oil paintings, representing rehgious subjects, give life to the walls, and the coffered ccihng is richly gilt. Between the ceiling and the oil paintings are, besides rich orna- mental painting, a number of landscape frescoes of delicate tone. At the rear of the hall .stands a more elaborate than beautiful throne, which dates from the Vatican Exhibition; simple, but monumental, wooden stalls extend along the walls.
F. The Sala degli Arazzi receives its name from the vast framed Flemish tapestries which decorate every wall. As these magnificent pieces hang very low, the visitor can closely examine the fineness of the work- manship. Above the tapestries have been painted, since the time of Paul V, landscape frescoes, which alternate with the arms of this pope. A beautifully carved cornice supports the richly gilt coffered ceiUng, which looks down on a mosaic marble floor. Curtains of white silk, with out.side curtains of ungathered green silk, exclude t oo glaring a light. Perfect taste and harmony of colour exist throughout this immense hall. G. The Sdlii del Trono. — Reference has been already made to the Throne Room. It may be added that to the right and left of the throne on two great marble tables stand two very valviable ancient clocks. Between t he two windows, exact ly opposite the throne, is an ivory crucifix of extraordinary dimensions and artistic value.
X. The State Staircases of the Vatican. — There are three state staircases in the Vatican. The first and best-known is the Scala Regia, which leads
up to the Sala Regia. It was built under Alexander
VII by Bernini, who, by the skilful arrangement of the
columns supporting the curves, has entirely concealed
the narrowing of the staircase towards the top. The
second staircase, erected by Pius IX, leads from the.
Port one di Bronzo, the chief entrance to the Vatican,
directly up to the Cortile di San Damaso. Con-
structed of granite steps several yards wide, the stair-
case has on the outer side a marble balustrade of
corresponding bulk; the base is of Breccia marble,
and above it as far as the ceiling extends artificial
marble. A large painted window adorns the side
looking towards the Piazza S. Pietro. Half-way up
is the apartment of the sub-prefect of the Apostolic
Palaces, while above, on the same floor as the Cortile
di San Damaso, is the apartment occupied by the
maestro di camera. This staircase is called after
the name of its builder, Scala Pia. The third state
staircase is the Scala Nobile, which leads from the
Cortile di San Damaso to the third story, to the suite
of the secretary of state, and runs past the papal
apartments to the private suite of the pope. Light
is admitted on the ground floor by the painted win-
dows renovated by the Prince Regent of Bavaria
after the powder explosion of 1SS2, and on the second
floor by those donated by the Collegium Germanicura
at the same period. The steps are of white marble;
yellow artificial marble covers the waUs, while the
base is of pure marble. Rich plaster decorations
cover the barrel-vault. The whole well of the stair-
case is simple, but of rare impressiveness and pleasing
colour.
XL The Administrative Boards of the Vati- can. — The supreme board of administration within the palace is the Prefettura dei Sacri Palazzi Apostol- ici, at the head of which stands as prefect the secre- tary of state. He is assisted by the sub-prefect, who, as executive and supervising official, possesses exten- sive authority. All artistic and scientific under- takings are subject, in so far as their economic aspect, is concerned, to the decision of the prefect. The departments of building, furnishing, administration of the magazine, household management, fire bri- gade, accountancy, the stables, printing works, gar- dening, and some other divisions are administered, under the supervision of the prefect, by more or less independent boards, whose directors — e. g. the foriere maggiore and the cavallerizzo maggiore — in some cases hold a high rank at Court (cf. Die kathol. Kirche unserer Zeit, I, pp. 286-88). Both the house- hold and magazine authorities have so completed their tasks since 1903 that it is no longer necessary to make special plans for the fitting of rooms etc. on the occasion of great solemnities such as conclaves. Pius X has everything arranged in a permanent fashion and preserved in the store-rooms, and in this manner has introduced considerable savings. The department of building, which under Leo XIII was rather neglected, is now busy with perfecting the architectural condition of the palace. The sub- prefect is restoring to their former condition a large number of magnificent halls, which during the course of the last century were subdivided vertically and horizontally to make smaller rooms. In the execu- tion of these works some important discoveries have been made. Very important and thorough repairs were made throughout the palace. The floor of the Galleria Ijipidaria was laid with bricks, the windows closed very badly, and the genera! condition of this magnificent corridor left very much to be desired. Repairs being thus urgently needed, a mere rectifica- tion of the damages would not be sufficient. More- over such a proceeding would be contrary to the traditionsof the Curia, which executes in monumental fashion whatever it undertakes. When the floor, windows, arches, and masonry were all overhauled in the Api)artamento Borgia, the collections of ancient
