A 360° Virtual Tour of the Sistine Chapel

The Sistine Chapel boasts one of the most famous ceilings on earth. The frescos that decorate its interior were done by renowned Renaissance painters including Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Pinturicchio, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Cosimo Roselli and, of course, Michelangelo who was responsible for “The Last Judgement” fresco, which took him four years to complete. The best way to see the Chapel, and, in fact all the museums of the Vatican (there are over 14 kilometres of artwork on display) is to hire a tour guide – you’ll skip the formidable queues and see rare relics closed to the rest of the public.

There are many tour guides in Rome that will gladly show you around the Vatican including Niccolò Arcangeli who we did an interview with recently. He does two tours a day – one to the Vatican and one to the Colosseum – so he’s definitely an expert. Or consider spending the day with Massimiliano Scarponi who has a degree in theology and his thesis topic was the Trinity Project according to the thinking of Cardinal Kasper. Or you could visit the Sistine Chapel with tour guide Silvia Testa and then hop aboard her vintage 500 Fiat, and discover the eternal city, like a true Roman of the ’60s.

In order to appreciate just how stunning the Sistine Chapel is, the Vatican has created a web site that allows you to do a virtual 360° tour of the sacred space. Below are stills taken from the site but to witness the tool in action, log on to the Vatican’s web site. Or better yet, fly to Rome, hire a guide and see it all in person.