Michelangelo's Pieta

Michelangelo sculpted this masterpiece in 1499 when he was only 25 years old!  Many of his enemies were jealous of the work and rumored that is was not his creation, so he added his signature on the sash of the Virgin - it is his only signed work.  It is kept in St. Peter's Basilica behind protective glass as there have been attempts to damage it in the past (it was damaged in 1972...).  You can see why the people at the Vatican and in the city of Rome kept coming back to Michelangelo for his help on many projects around the city!