Thanks to the richness and exclusiveness of the artistic masterpieces they house, Vatican Museums are ranked among the most important museums in the world.  The five centuries old collection the museums expose, began  when the Pontiffs developed their interest in art, starting to commission works to artists, and searching, often with success, for ancient treasures.Vatican Museums are composed of several sections: The ancient one houses archaeological findings like Egyptian, Etruscan and Greek-Roman statues: among them is the famous, highly expressive,  marble group of statues by Laocoonte (from the Hellenic School); in the Renaissance section we find the Raffaello Rooms, the Sistine Chapel with its frescoes by the celebrated Umbrian and Tuscan masters of the fifteenth century and by Michelangelo; the Pinacoteca (picture gallery) and the modern section with the works of contemporary authors displayed in the Collection of Modern Religious Art.