Sistine chapel before and after restoration

Chapel in the Apostolic Palace, Vatican City

The Sistine Chapel (SIST-een; Latin: Sacellum Sixtinum; Italian: Cappella Sistina[kapˈpɛllasiˈstiːna]) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the pope's official residence in Vatican City.

Originally known as the Cappella Magna ('Great Chapel'), it takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, who had it built between 1473 and 1481.

Sistine chapel before restoration

Sistine chapel before restoration

How long did it take michelangelo to paint the sistine chapel

Sistine chapel controversy

What was controversial about the restoration of the sistine chapel?

When was the sistine chapel painted

Since that time, it 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. The chapel's fame lies mainly in the frescoes that decorate its interior, most particularly the Sistine Chapel ceiling and The Last Judgment, both by Michelangelo.

During the reign of Sixtus IV, a team of Renaissance painters including Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Pinturicchio, Domenico Ghirlandaio and Cosimo Rosselli, created a series of frescos