The Sistine Chapel

The Sistine Chapel, reached at the climax of the Vatican Museums, holds what many consider the single greatest achievement in the history of Western art. This chapel, where the cardinals gather in conclave to elect a new pope, was transformed by Michelangelo, who between 1508 and 1512 covered its vast ceiling with a breathtaking cycle of frescoes depicting scenes from Genesis, including the iconic Creation of Adam, and, decades later, painted the tremendous, awe-inspiring Last Judgment across the altar wall. Surrounded also by masterpieces from Botticelli, Perugino and other giants, this small chapel, glowing with restored colour, is a place of overwhelming artistic and spiritual power.

History

The chapel stands on the site of the Cappella Maggiore, recorded in 1368 and in ruins, its walls leaning, by the time it was pulled down. Pope Sixtus IV, after whom it is named, had the new chapel built between 1473 and 1481 to a design by Baccio Pontelli, under the supervision of Giovannino de Dolci and closely following the old proportions, for the Papal Chapel, the body of about 200 clerics, officials and laity who gathered for the papal liturgies. The first mass was celebrated on 15 August 1483, the Feast of the Assumption, when the chapel was consecrated to the Virgin Mary. A team including Botticelli, Perugino, Pinturicchio, Ghirlandaio and Cosimo Rosselli painted the Lives of Moses and Christ on the walls, and Michelangelo later painted the ceiling and The Last Judgment. It is still used for the main services of the papal calendar, with its own choir, for which Allegri wrote his Miserere, and it is where the cardinals meet in conclave to elect a pope (Wikipedia, Sistine Chapel).

What to look for

• The ceiling - Michelangelo's Genesis frescoes and the Creation of Adam.
• The Last Judgment - the tremendous altar-wall fresco.
• The wall frescoes - the masterpieces by Botticelli and Perugino.
• The chapel of the conclave - the place where popes are elected.

When to go

Year-round, though spring and autumn are less crowded than the intense summer; the chapel is reached only through the Vatican Museums, so booking a timed ticket in advance, and arriving early or late in the day, greatly reduces the crush. Silence and no photography are required in the chapel, as a sacred space, and modest dress is essential.

What to expect

The Sistine Chapel is reached only after walking the long, often crowded route through the vast Vatican Museums, and the chapel itself can be intensely packed and noisy despite the rules, with guards enforcing silence, no photos and modest dress; booking ahead and timing the visit are essential. For the overwhelming reward of standing beneath Michelangelo's sublime ceiling and before his Last Judgment, though, among the supreme masterpieces of human art, the Sistine Chapel is genuinely unforgettable and unmissable.

Nearby

The Vatican Museums, St Peter's Basilica and Rome are close by.