Sistine Chapel

The Sistine Chapel is the official residence of the Pope, located in the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City. Visitor’s primarily come here to see Michelangelo’s The Last Judgement, The Creation of Adam and his ceiling paintings. However, the side panels painted by other Renaissance artists also look incredible.

Flocks of tourists visit every day and fall in awe of the art pieces displayed here. Pope Sixtus IV ordered the construction of this chapel between 1473 and 1481. The name of the building’s architect is still unknown. Michelangelo spent four years, between 1508 to 1512, to complete painting the ceiling. Among all the ceiling works, the nine stories from Genesis stand out. Michelangelo’s The Last Judgement covers an impressive 10,000 square feet. But even before Michelangelo, other talented artists like Botticelli, Perugino, Luca, and Ghirlandaio had worked on the side panels of the Sistine Chapel. Time had worn out these frescoes, and it took even longer to restore them than to create them in the first place. The Sistine Chapel does pay the price for its popularity, though, by being crowded most of the time.