Sistine Chapel (Rome)

Vatican City / Rome / Via del Governatorato
 church, chapel, place with historical importance
This is the chapel used by the Catholic Cardinals when selecting a new pope. It has ceiling frescoes by Michelangelo Buonarotti, very famously showing the great scenes of the Bible. It is the most famous chapel in the world. The wall behind the altar is painted with "Judgement Day". In the main seating area look at the walls, they have been painted in tromp l'oeil to look like curtains or hanging tapestries, and you have to be right beside them to see they are flat.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTBjRrXvJiM

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm5YmeU7xOI

mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/CSN/CSN_Main.html
www.vatican.va/various/cappelle/sistina_vr/index.html
 Add place (company, shop, etc.) to this building
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistine_Chapel
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   41°54'10"N   12°27'16"E

Comments

  • Amazing place to see. I can't imagine how long it took for Michelangelo to paint all of that. What's even more amazing is that Michelangelo wasn't even a painter, he was a sculptor. The pope forced him to take up painting. Or so I'm told.
  • Read "Agony and Ecstasy" by the author Ervin Stone for the entire episode regarding the great Michangelo,the Pope,Sistine chapel and the great frescos.
  • When you go, be on the lookout for the first temptation picture on the ceiling. Notice it's actually Adam taking an apple from the tree, Eve is standing nearby but is distracted. Most importantly though, on your way out, just before the exit door, take a moment to look down at the floor. There are two small brown marks, stains more correctly. This is where they place the TEMPORARY stove when they burn smoke during conclave (when a new pope is being elected), and the chimney is simply stuck out the window. I had always wondered where that stove went!