Finished 28th June 2014

 540 Pieces

Italia Antiqua - the Gallery of Maps, Vatican Museum, Vatican City

This jigsaw puzzle brought me close to tears and I am still unsure if it's solved correctly. The sea and worldfamous coastal landforms were easy to assemble, but italy.... on my!

Just check these two pictures to see a prove of incorrectly assembled pictures:

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The Gallery of Maps (Galleria delle carte geografiche) presents 40 frescoes with topographical maps of the whole of Italy, painted on the walls by friar Ignazio Danti of Perugia, commissioned by Pope Gregory XIII (1572–1585). This gallery is situated at the west side of the Belvedere Courtyard. It is 120 m long. It took Ignazio Danti three years (1580–1583) to complete the panels. 

I took these photos while visiting the Gallery a few weeks ago:

 This frescoe shows a contemporary depiction of the Battle of Lepanto 1571. It's on the right side when entering the Gallery.

The decorations on the vaulted ceiling is the work of a group of Mannerist artists as Cesare Nebbia and Girolamo Muziano.

A Detail on top of the door when leaving the Gallery

Cardinal Ugo Boncompagni was elected pope Gregory XIII.  in 1572. His election was supported by Spain where Cardinal Boncompagni had been nuncio (ambassador) for several years. His coat of arms shows a dragon with a truncated tail (the evil part of this imaginary animal). This is not always evident in some coats of arms or in statues of the dragon.