Sistine Chapel

Besides being a religious icon for all Catholics by holding the Conclave for the election of a new pope, the Sistine Chapel is definitly one of the most beautifuly decorated monuments in the world. The Chapel is the last step and crowns the visit of the Vatican Museum, which will overwhelm you with teh richest paintings and sculptures colections in the world.

After the 3 hours visit of the museum, I saw so many masterpieces that I could hardly focus and appreciate the beauty of the Chapel's paintings. So I would definitly visit it again.

I strongly recommend the Guided Tours of the Vatican proposed with official guides. The prices are between 32 and 37 EUR/person
And by booking online before going, it will make you avoid the huge waiting line.

It is possible to organize the following Guided Tours:

Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel
Vatican Gardens
Vatican Museums and Basilica of Saint Peter
Vatican Museums and Basilica of Saint Peter - Art & Faith

Contacts to book guided tours:
e-mail: visiteguidatesingoli.musei@scv.va
tel. : +39 06 69883145 - +39 06 69884676

Some history
The Sistine Chapel is the best-known chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope in the Vatican City. It is famous for its architecture and its decoration that was frescoed throughout by Renaissance artists including Michelangelo, Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Pinturicchio and others. Under the patronage of Pope Julius II, Michelangelo painted 1,100 m2 (12,000 sq ft) of the chapel ceiling between 1508 and 1512. The ceiling, and especially The Last Judgment (1535–1541), is widely believed to be Michelangelo's crowning achievement in painting.

The chapel takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, who restored the old Cappella Magna between 1477 and 1480. During this period a team of painters that included Pietro Perugino, Sandro Botticelli and Domenico Ghirlandaio created a series of frescoed panels depicting the life of Moses and the life of Christ, offset by papal portraits above and trompe l'oeil drapery below. These paintings were completed in 1482, and on 15 August 1483, Pope Sixtus IV celebrated the first mass in the Sistine Chapel for the Feast of the Assumption, at which ceremony the chapel was consecrated and dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Since the time of Sixtus IV, the chapel has served as a place of both religious and functionary papal activity. Today it is the site of the Papal conclave, the process by which a new Pope is selected.

For more information, check out the Chapel's Wikipedia page by following this link

IMPORTANT: dress code
Access to Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Gardens and Saint Peter's Basilica is permitted only to visitors dressed appropriately (no sleeveless blouses, no miniskirts, no shorts, no hats allowed).

Closing Days:
Sunday (except the last Sunday of every month, free entrance from 9 am to 12.30 pm; the Museums close at 2 pm unless it coincides with Easter Sunday, the 29th of June (St. Peter and Paul), 25th and 26th of December (Christmas and St. Stephen)
January 1, 6
February 11
March 19, 31 (Easter)
April 1 (Easter Monday)
May 1
June 29 (St. Peter and Paul)
August 14, 15
November 1
December 25, 26Less