Sistine Chapel – Vatican City

The Sistine Chapel derives from the remains of the Cappella Magna, probably built by Pope Innocent III between the end of the twelfth century and the beginning of the thirteenth century; its present appearance is due to Pope Sixtus IV, from whom it takes its name, as part of the renovation projects of the monuments abandoned during the Avignon captivity period.

The demolition of the Cappella Magna, of which only the medieval walls were preserved up to the height of the first cornice, began during the second half of 1475; the plan of consolidation of the walls with the construction of a brick curtain is due to the Florentine architects Baccio Pontelli and Giovannino de’ Dolci.

The Chapel has a rectangular structure covered by a low barrel vault; between the intersections of the sails there are lunettes, under which the arched windows open letting the light in.

The works were completed in 1483: on August 15, on the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin, the chapel was consecrated and dedicated to Mary.

Between 1481 and 1482 the pictorial decoration was completed, entrusted to the most important masters of the time, such as Perugino, Sandro Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, Cosimo Rosselli and Luca Signorelli.

During the sixteenth century, due to the renovation of the Basilica of San Pietro, the vault of the chapel suffered damage, and lost the starry sky made by Piermatteo d’Amelia; Julius II, the pope of the time, then entrusted the reconstruction to Michelangelo in 1508, who between 1536 and 1541 also realized the impressive fresco of the Last Judgement on the wall behind the altar.

The Sistine Chapel, frescoed by the team of painters led by Perugino in the late fifteenth century and Michelangelo Buonarroti in the sixteenth century.

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Perugino’s masterpieces preserved here: