Cortile del Pappagallo Hortus Conclusus

This book describes the Apostolic Palace and in particularthe Courtyard of the Parrots. Its name is taken from the internal aviary already existing since 1505 in Julius II’s Apartment. Since the Middle Ages the Hortus conclusus has been a physical and real place with a deep allegorical and spiritual meaning: according to the Greeks it referred to Alcinous’s garden situated in the island of Feaci in the Odyssey, according to the Romans it referred to the Elysium, according to Benedictine monks it was a cloister or an isolated garden used for praying or addressing God in complete solitude. Therefore the Courtyard of the Parrots is an isolated and  quiet place situated in the beating heart of the Apostolic Palace where the Sum Pontiff goes to meditate. A garden which becomes an instrument of ascetism, where the beauty of the creation helps to improve the spirit and to approach God. The reconstruction of the Courtyard of the Parrots was made on photographic panels depicting frescos still existing and regrouped with those once removed.