## Step 4 - Reading

Reading: Top Ten Museums
Now you are going to read about the Top Ten Museums according to the National Geographic Book 'The best 10 of Everything'. There are many ‘lists’ of Top 10s. Let’s see which museums are in the Top 10.
Quickly read through the texts. Which museums do you know? Which museums have you visited?

1. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. The Smithsonian is the world’s largest research and museum complex, with 19 museums and galleries, the National Zoological Park, and various research stations. More than 137 million objects detailing America’s story are housed here, so you’d better prepare for a long week of walking. There’s so much to see that, if you spent one minute day and night looking at each object on exhibit, in ten years you’d see only ten percent of the whole. Therefore, it’s wise to head out with a plan. Focus on only one or two exhibits at two or three different museums. Main attractions: 'Dorothy’s ruby red slippers', 'The dresses of the First Ladies', and the original Star-Spangled Banner at the National Museum of American History; the Gem Hall (including the Hope Diamond) at the National Museum of Natural History; the Wright brothers’ 1903 Flyer, the Spirit of St. Louis; and the Apollo 11 command module at the National Air and Space Museum.

2. Le Louvre, Paris, France The Louvre was a medieval fortress and the palace of the kings of France before becoming a museum two centuries ago. The addition of I.M. Pei’s pyramid shocked many when it was unveiled in 1989 as the new main entrance, yet it somehow works, integrating the palace’s disparate elements. The museum’s collections, which range from antiquity to the first half of the 19th century, are among the most important in the world. A good place to start is the Sully Wing, at the foundations of Philippe-Auguste’s medieval keep—it’s in the heart of the Louvre, kids love it, and it leads straight to the Egyptian rooms. Main attractions: 'Venus de Milo', 'Winged Victory of Samothrace', and Leonardo da Vinci’s 'Mona Lisa'.

3. The Acropolis Museum, Athens, Greece The stunning ground floor gallery houses finds from the slopes of the Acropolis. Its amazing transparent glass floor provides a walk over history, with a view of the archaeological excavation, while sloping upward to the Acropolis with sanctuaries of the Athenians from each historic period nearby. Smaller settlements have been excavated, yielding glimpses of Athenian life. For the first time, the exhibits in the Archaic Gallery allow visitors to take in all sides of the objects, which are displayed in open spaces characterized by changing natural light. Main attractions: The frieze of the Parthenon is mounted on a structure with exactly the same dimensions as the cella of the Parthenon, giving comprehensive viewing of every detail.

4. State Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia Russia may be isolated from the artistic centers of Paris, Rome, and London, but the Hermitage has managed to acquire a spectacular collection of world art—more than three million items—spanning the years from the Stone Age to the early 20th century. The museum occupies six buildings along the Neva River, the leading structure being the confection-like Winter Palace. This gloriously baroque, blue-and-white structure was finished in 1764 and over the next several centuries was the main residence of the czars. Catherine the Great founded the museum that same year when she purchased 255 paintings from Berlin. The museum’s focal point is Western European art—120 rooms in four buildings ranging from the Middle Ages to the present day. Rembrandt, Rubens, Tiepolo, Titian, da Vinci, Picasso, Gauguin, Cézanne, van Gogh, and Goya are all represented here. For in-depth tours, contact Glories of the Hermitage. Main attractions: The Treasure Gallery’s Gold Rooms showcase golden masterpieces from Eurasia, the Black Sea Littoral in antiquity, and the Orient. The museum also houses pieces from Nicholas II’s private collection, including paintings, drawings, and medals created to commemorate his coronation.

5. The British Museum, London, England Britain’s largest museum looks after the national collection of archaeology and ethnography—more than eight million objects ranging from prehistoric bones to chunks of Athens’ Parthenon, from whole Assyrian palace rooms to exquisite gold jewels. Main attractions: The Egyptian gallery boasts the world’s second finest collection of Egyptian antiquities outside Egypt, including the Rosetta Stone, carved in 196 B.C.

6. The Prado, Madrid, Spain The Spanish royal family is responsible for the Prado’s bounty of classical masterpieces. Over centuries, kings and queens collected and commissioned art with passion and good taste. In addition to stars of Spanish painting such as Velázquez, Goya, Ribera, and Zurbarán, the Prado has big collections of Italian (including Titian and Raphael) and Flemish artists. Fernando VII opened the collection to the public in 1819, in the same neoclassic building it’s housed in today, designed by Juan de Villanueva. Main attractions: 'The Three Graces' by Rubens.

7. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, New York The Metropolitan Museum of Art is the largest museum in the Western Hemisphere. Its collection of more than two million items is not only broad—covering the entire world, from antiquity to the present—but deep, with holdings so large in a number of areas that some might be considered museums unto themselves. Its European paintings are stunning: works by Botticelli, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Degas, Rodin, and other luminaries. The Egyptian Collection showcases the tomb of Perneb (circa 2440 B.C.) and the exquisite Temple of Dendur (circa 23-10 B.C.). The American Wing contains American arts and crafts, including a room from a Frank Lloyd Wright Prairie House. And the list goes on and on. Main attractions: 'Adam and Eve', the well-known engraving by Albrecht Dürer, is only one of the many impressive pieces you will discover at the Met.

8. The Vatican Museums, Vatican City, Italy Twenty-two separate collections comprise the Musei Vaticani, each one more spectacular than the next. The most famous are probably the Museo Pio-Clementino, with its splendid classical sculpture; the Raphael Rooms, entire rooms painted by Raphael; the Pinacoteca (picture gallery), which contains the cream of the Vatican’s collection of medieval and Renaissance paintings; and, of course, Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. But there is also the ancient Egyptian exhibits of the Museo Gregoriano Egizio, as well as the Etruscan offerings of the Museo Gregoriano Etrusco. And that’s just a start. Main attractions: The renowned Sistine Chapel and the Raphael Rooms are not to be missed.

9. The Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy 'Great' is an overworked adjective in Italy, where so many of the country’s monuments and works of art command the highest praise. In the case of the Galleria degli Uffizi, it barely does justice to a gallery that holds the world’s finest collection of Renaissance paintings. The museum has a corridor which houses its self-portrait section. All the famous names of Italian art are here—not only the Renaissance masters, but also painters from the early medieval, baroque, and Mannerist heydays. In its Uffizi section the Vasari Corridor is used to exhibit the museum's famous collection of self-portraits. Main attractions: 'The Birth of Venus' by Botticelli is one.

10. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands About 900,000 objects fill the Rijksmuseum, the largest collection of art and history in the Netherlands. It is most famous for its paintings by 17th-century Dutch masters, including Ruysdael, Frans Hals, Johannes Vermeer, and Rembrandt van Rijn. Established in 1800 to exhibit the collections of the Dutch stadtholders, the Rijksmuseum also displays art from the Middle Ages. Main attractions: 'De Nachtwacht' ('The Night Watch') by Rembrandt.

Read the texts again.

Do the exercise.

In which museum do you find these artistic collections or objects?