Sistine Chapel

The Sistine Chapel is one of the treasures of the Vatican, and it is home a grand fresco by the king of Renaissance painting: Michelangelo. In it you can see the famous image of the Creation on Man surrounded by endless allegorical frescoes. It was built between the years 1471 and 1484 by Pope Sixtus IV and has a height of around 20 meters. To get there, you can first visit the Vatican Museums. It is often crowded (especially those who want to see the Chapel, ignoring the rest of the museum) so the journey can be tedious, and the crowding inside the chapel probably makes you want to leave as soon as possible.

At the insistence of Pope Julius II and encouraged by Bramante, Michelangelo was chosen to paint the immense ceiling fresco of the Sistine Chapel. It took four years to complete this 1000-square-meter roof with over 300 figures! The whole thing is overwhelming. Upon entering the chapel, you can literally feel the astonished gasp of the entire crowd of onlookers. Due to the huge daily crowds, talking loudly and photography are prohibited.

The ceiling scenes depict the creation, temptation, and fall of man. The three center scenes represent the three necessary steps for the coming of Christ: the creation of man, the creation of woman, and original sin.

Starting from saying that all the pictures were made by Michelangelo, so they are really famous and known in the word, they are so beautiful!

The two main pictures were the Creation (La Creazione di Adamo) e The last judgement (Il Giudizio Universale), both really stunning. A place to see for sure.