| Raffaello Sanzio's frescoes in the Stanza della Segnatura in the Vatican, in Rome, are hardly more than fifty yards from Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling. Together, these pictorial masterpieces estabĂ‚Âlished a standard of quality and invention that was to become the gauge of artistic achievement for the next four hundred years of European painting. The magnificent frescoes in the four Raphael Rooms - the Stanze di Raffaello -- in the Vatican Museums in Rome, are among the greatest achievements in the history of art. The Stanza della Segnatura was the first of the rooms that Raphael decorated upon his arrival in Rome in 1508. Now -- with this audio tour -- when you visit the Vatican Museums you can experience the ground-breaking fresco paintings guided by the scholarship of a well-known art historian. Raphael's Stanza della Segnatura is the exclusive audiobook adaptation of the popular book in The Great Fresco Cycles of the Renaissance series, written by James Beck, Professor of Art History at Columbia University and a renowned Renaissance scholar. In this engaging audio tour, Jane's narration reveals the historic context, the lofty humanist ideals, and the artistic genius that coincided to create Raphael's epic panoramic fresco paintings. Like all the award-winning Jane's Smart Art Guides, this audio guide to Raphael's Stanza della Segnatura, in the Vatican, in Rome, is divided into two parts: a background context segment for listening before arriving at the Vatican Museums, and the on-site tour of the Stanza della Segnatura. There is also an Appendix that provides extra detail about the figures depicted in the School of Athens panorama. Context Guide 'Slice of History' ... 30 minutes On-site Guide to Raphael's Stanza della Segnatura ... 60 minutes School of Athens Appendix ... 20 minutes | 
