View from the Vatican Museums

The Vatican Museums occupy several long galleries that wind through the papal palaces, and at certain points the windows open onto views of Rome and the Vatican gardens that are nearly as remarkable as the art on the walls. This view is from one of those windows — the layered topography of Rome on one side, the careful geometry of the gardens on the other.

Photographed in October 2016 during my first time in Italy. The Vatican Museums are essentially a building wrapped around a procession of art; the windows along the way are a reminder that there is also a city outside.