La Pieta, Vatican City

This is the statue that made Michelangelo famous. After this work, he painted the Sistine Chapel, and created his other famous works. You can find it at the entrance to the basilica, under glass. It's breathtaking.

Beautiful masterpiece from 1499 by the young Michelangelo. It depicts one of the most miserable scenes in the Bible: Mary mourns Jesus being taken from the cross. In 1972, a confused Hungarian geologist, László Tóth, struck the statue with a hammer. For this reason, for years, it can only be viewed from a distance, entering the chapel of St. Peter’s Basilica on the right, where the pope used to change during the papal masses. On the other hand, eye-catching fans can study a copy of centimeters at Borghese Gallery without a hitch.

The Pietà was a popular subject among northern european artists. ... It means Pity or Compassion, and represents Mary sorrowfully contemplating the dead body of her son which she holds on her lap.

The most beautiful sculpture ever. Pure genious.

The Pietà  is a work of Renaissance sculpture by Michelangelo Buonarroti, housed in St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City. It is the first of a number of works of the same theme by the artist. The statue was commissioned for the French Cardinal Jean de Bilhères, who was the French ambassador in Rome. The sculpture, in Carrara marble, was made for the cardinal's funeral monument, but was moved to its current location, the first chapel on the north side after the entrance of the basilica, in the 18th century.