The majestic beauty of the Sistine Chapel and the of the masterpieces housed in the Vatican Museums
The Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel attract millions of visitors every year. They house one of the largest art collections in the world and are the result of acquisitions made by great popes over the centuries. On any day they are open, the waiting line to access them can be miles long. Once inside, visitors walk along narrow corridors made of rope barriers and must keep up with the crowd pace. This for all the 7 km of frescoed galleries hosting thousands of works and that culminate in the Sistine Chapel painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512.
Indeed, in the past, VIP visits with early access before opening time have been voted among the top Travelers’ Choice for Experiences by TripAdvisor. In real life, these experiences are very expensive. Nevertheless, anyone can access them free of charge from the comfort of their home. Through museivaticani.va, art lovers can take their time to admire all sorts of masterpieces admiring close up images. There is also a 360° virtual tour of the over 500 square meters of Michelangelo’s Vault in the Sistine Chapel.
Between 1477 and 1480, Pope Sixtus IV della Rovere, had the ancient Magna Chapel restored and it became the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo painted the majestic Last Judgement between 1508 and 1512.
Today, this chapel is still of central importance in the life of the Roman Catholic Church.
Since 1878, it is here that the cardinals meet in conclave to elect every new Pope. Upon entering the Sistine Chapel, the viewer’s gaze inevitably rises upwards. Michelangelo’s Last Judgment slow rotational movement divides the ascension of the risen to heaven on the left and the fall of the damned to hell on the right. On the walls the works of some of the greatest exponents of the Italian Renaissance: Pietro Perugino, Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Cosimo Rosselli.