In the octagonal courtyard of the Vatican Museums, with masterpieces such as the Laocoon, we find an anonymous stone base with these two initials: MB. What are they? Why are two letters here? A secret and legend of the Vatican Museums...
Surely entering in the so-called Octagonal Courtyard, your view might be distracted by so many other beauties, as well as the Apollo Belvedere, Perseus of Canova, or of the great pink granite bowls from the roman times. But there is also somthing more, something that has to with a tradition hard to believe of course, but which, after all, it is fascinating to think that, it could have some truth in it. The tradition that I mentioned before tells us how these two initials, MB, are the initials of the great Michelangelo!
The creator of the wonderful fresco on the ceiling and on the wall behind the altar in the Sistine Chapel, the sculptor of David, or of Moses, the man who designed, as we see it today, the Piazza del Campidoglio. So why this strange signature here, on this anonymous piece of marble? The octagonal courtyard was commissioned by Pope Julius II (click here to know more about this famous pontiff) at the beginning of the XVI century, therefore at the Renaissance age. This was the private area of his home, and being Julius II a great Pope, but also a rich man, a member of the powerful family Della Rovere, he liked to be surround by beautiful works of art, especially of the roman era. It was the custom and taste of the time, after all, to expose its influential and wealthy guests all that Rome itself, the antique dealers or art dealers could have and sell. And Julius II, as a good and noble man of the time, could not fail to fill this space with many wonders that have two thousand or so years, and not only.
A place, this courtyard, so full and full of ancient beauty that attract a bevy of artists, especially the great masters, who used to spend time here gazing at and admiring these works of art, sometimes even making sketches or, why not, staying in pure contemplation. And during his studies in this beautiful courtyard, Michelangelo loved very much to spend several time here, maybe days and days, using this base as a support for his tools, his sheets, his hands that so many of the wonders they have created in the course of his 89 years of life. It seems that, considering that he didn't have a good character, Michelangelo began to not let anyone else laid over the base since he considered it to be his property. And strengthened this concept by drawing his initials! Do you think that it is the truth or not?