The morning journal-courier., 1908-11-02
MOVING A GREAT PICTURE.
Raphaers "Transflgurauon" Shifted
 from the Old Vatican Gallery.

The quietest and most secluded street in Rome is that surrounding the Bascilica of St. Peter and leading to the back entrance of the Vatican palace. On the Vatican side there is a low building, where the popes in the days of temporary power used to keep their state carriages The build ing and its contents were not seized by the Italians in 1870, and both Plus TX and Leo XIII perhaps hoped to use the carriages in the streets of Rome on some future day.
 Plus x, however, has no such hope and recently he gave orders to have the carriages removed and the car riage house repaired and cleaned. Its windows were widened, the ceilings succeed the walls covered with red damask and old walnscoting and a barquet floor was laid instead of the brick tiing. Then the old carriage house was turned into a picture gall lery
 The Vatican picture gallery or Pima ooteca was formed by Plus VII about 1915, on the advice of Cardinal Con salvi and of Canova, with the pictures which were carried off from the churches of Rome by the French and restored by the treaty of Amiens. Plus TX had the collection reorganized and removed 1t to four rooms, situat- ed to the left of the Loggle of Raf- faelle, in 1857. Plus X has now plans to have the pictures displayed in the old carriage house.
 Meanwhile the pictures are being carefully removed from the four rooms on the fourth floor to the new Piracoteca, a delicate and difficult undertaking. as the pictures, several of which are painted on wood and are of large size. have to be lowered one by one from window of the old Pinacoteca down to the courtyard called del triansolo, from where they are carried across the other courtyard of the Belvedere and up steep in cline to the gateway leading to the street on which the new gallery stands Every precaution is taken lest the pictures suffer damage during their removal.
 The first picture to be removed was "The Transfguration, by Raph- ael, his last and best work, which he originally painted by order of Carr dinal Giulio dc Medici, (afterward Clement VII.) archbishop of Mar bonne, for the cathedral of that town. It was scarcely finished when Raphael died, and 1t hung oyer his death bed as he lay in state and was carried in his funeral procession,
 A scaffold was raised in front of of the picture where 1t hung in the old Pinocoteca and a wooden box, filled with cotton was securely tied to 1t. Into it the picture, frame and all, was carefully moved and the lid of the box was screwed on. The box was kept throughout the removal in horizont- al position
 First 1t was pushed sideways toward window, where strong ropes were passed around it and 1t was then lowered down to the courtyard of the Triangle. Here it was placed on soaped rollers and pushed across the yard until the gateway of the zecca was reached, Finally 1t was carried to the new gallery, unpacked and hung
 The weight of the box with the pie ture inside exceeded 70 hundred weight. Mgre Misciatelli the prefeet of the Apostolic Palace, was in at- tendance during the whole time and reported to tho pope the complete success of the undertaking.
 The other pictures of the Plnaco- teca are now being removed in the same way.