River God Nile

Vatican Museums, Vatican City
May 2026

I assumed most of the art in the Vatican would be devotional and directly related to Christianity. What surprised me was how much of the collection preserves the mythology, symbolism, and artistic traditions of the ancient Roman world.

Standing before this sculpture, I was reminded that the Vatican Museums are not only a collection of Christian art. They also preserve the classical culture that influenced much of European history and later Christian art and architecture.