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Joining the groups of outspoken activists who attach themselves to prominent works of art, Pope Francis has glued himself to the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel to protest climate change. "We must stop climate change now!" the 86-year-old pontiff said as he hung precariously from the ceiling that features priceless paintings by famed artist Michelangelo. "There is no greater danger to all of God's children than the threat of the temperature of the earth rising slightly and causing inclement weather. All other issues around the world pale in comparison to this."

Raphael, The Miraculous Draught of Fishes. (Credit: Wiki Commons.)ROME - For the first time since 1983, all ten of Raphael’s grand tapestries depicting the lives of Saints Peter and Paul will be exhibited together in the Sistine Chapel, hanging at eye level beneath Michelangelo’s frescoed ceiling as was the original intention. Scheduled to be on display Feb. 17-23, 2020, this will be the Vatican’s way of honoring the famous Renaissance master as the world marks the 500th anniversary of his death. The last time they were presented was for the 500th anniversary of his birth. The artist, who died in...

THE MOST PROFOUND SECRETS OF THE SISTINE CHAPEL TO EVER BE REVEALED The Sistine Chapel is the premier chapel of the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City, which is the official home residence of the Pope. The following presentation pulls back the curtain of the Sistine Chapel, unveiling secrets with spiritual revelations that have never been discovered and understood until now. (Read More)

THE earliest-known work of art created by Michelangelo when the Italian artist was just 12 years old has been discovered. The sketch, which depicts a robed man in a chair, was identified by leading Italian Renaissance scholar Sir Timothy Clifford. Sir Clifford believes the legendary artist, who painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling and carved the statue of David in marble, created the work when he was just a young child. Describing it as “the earliest drawing efforts of a youth who would one day emerge as one of the most remarkable artists that has ever lived,” Sir Clifford thinks it...

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are in Rome, Italy as their third stop in their first international trip as POTUS and FLOTUS. After an early morning meeting with Pope Francis, On Wednesday, the pair was photographed in St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City

How much do you know about the Sistine Chapel? Did you know, for example, that it began as a private chapel for Church elites—the “ultimate ecclesiastical man cave”? The Chapel, which attracts 5 million visitors per year, isn’t just an obligatory stop on an art history tour of Italy, it is a living history of the Church and its influences—influences that range from global, geopolitical change to petty personal feuds. This TED talk, by art historian Elizabeth Lev, outlines the evolution of the Chapel in three stages. The full talk, which Lev delivered in Geneva last December, is well...

Unlike Pope Francis, I believe that air-conditioning and the capitalists responsible for the technology are blessings to the world. Perhaps the head of the Catholic Church, who condemned "the increasing use and power of air-conditioning" last week in a market-bashing encyclical, is unaware of the pioneering private company that has donated its time, energy and innovative heating, ventilating and air-conditioning equipment to the Vatican's most famous edifice for more than a decade. That's right. While the pontiff sanctimoniously attacks "those who are obsessed with maximizing profits," Carrier Corporation — a $13 billion for-profit company with 43,000 employees worldwide (now a...

Visitors to the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel will now be able to see its world-famous frescos in a new light – 7,000 new LED lights to be exact. ... “This type of LED lighting guarantees a homogeneous lighting, which is very precise and allows us to understand the Sistine Chapel as a whole and each fresco individually, in minute detail,” says the Director of the Vatican Museums, Antonio Paolucci. The non-intrusive, energy-saving bulbs have been concealed along the edges of the ledge which runs around the chapel. Positioned to match the frescoes’ pigments, they can be adjusted to different levels. “This...

>Details: Pope Francis has for the first time allowed the Sistine Chapel to be rented out for a private corporate event, with the proceeds to go to charities working with the poor and homeless. The concert, to be performed amid the splendour of Michelangelo’s frescoes on Saturday, will be attended by a select group of about 40 high-paying tourists who have signed up to an exclusive tour of Italy organised by Porsche. But as the unprecedented deal was announced, the Vatican announced that it would limit the number of visitors allowed inside the chapel to the current total of six...

Pretty cool if you've never been then. If you have a wheel on your mouse it zooms it in or out. Virtual tour of the Sistine Chapel

Vatican firefighters secure a smokestack on the roof of the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican March 9. Smoke coming from the chimney will be the only sign to the world of how things are progressing inside the chapel during the conclave. White smoke signals that the cardinal electors have elected a new pope. Black smoke indicates voting has been not been conclusive. (CNS photo/Paul Haring) Yesterday Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi, SJ released a schedule for the sessions of the conclave to elect a new pope, set to begin Tuesday, March 12, including a time-table for when the “fumata” (the...

Firefighters, right, place the chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel, where cardinals will gather to elect the new pope, at the Vatican, Saturday, March 9, 2013. VATICAN CITY: Vatican workers hoisted a chimney onto the roof of the on Saturday in readiness for the conclave of Roman Catholic cardinals that will elect a successor to Pope Benedict. The conclave begins on Tuesday, with the sequestered cardinals using the chimney to tell the outside world whether or not they have chosen a new leader - black smoke signifying no decision and white smoke announcing a new pontiff. The rust-coloured...

Sistine Chapel Closed to PublicSections of the Vatican Museums were closed today at 1 p.m. Rome time, about 60 minutes ago, to begin to prepare the Sistine Chapel for the upcoming papal conclave.In 2005, it took seven days to prepare the Chapel for the Conclave after it was closed.By this measure, the Sistine Chapel should be ready for the Conclave on March 12.However, the cardinals must vote to move the Conclave up from the March 15-20 time-frame foreseen by the regulations currently in effect. Such a vote would require the presence of all 115 voting cardinals.In meetings this morning, there...

Michelangelo's Sistine chapel frescoes are threatened by the effects of too many visitors, experts have warned on Wednesday, as the masterly painted ceiling celebrated its 500th anniversary... Many visitors just stare, tranfixed, at one of the most notable artwork ever created. Indeed, Pope Julius II and 17 cardinals reacted in the same way when the vaulted ceiling was revealed in all its blue glory on the Eve of All Saints, 31 October, 1512, during a vesper Mass. But others are "drunken tourist herds" disrespectful of the unique setting they are visiting, according to leading literary critic Pietro Citati. The "herds"...

Click on this link for a 360 degree view of the Sistine Chapel. Hit the zoom button for a close-up view of the artwork on the ceiling and walls of the chapel. Better than being there.

People view one of Raphael's tapestries hanging from a wall of the Sistine Chapel July 14. (CNS photo) By Carol GlatzCatholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Like long-lost twins, two halves of an artistic masterpiece conceived by the Renaissance master Raphael will be reunited for the first time. The Vatican Museums and London's Victoria and Albert Museum will exhibit side-by-side some of Raphael's enormous tapestries for the Sistine Chapel and his preparatory paintings. The joint initiative is meant to coincide with Pope Benedict XVI's first visit to the United Kingdom in September. Since the Renaissance, "the cartoons and...

SISTINE CHAPEL

This is the most amazing virtual tour inside the Sistine Chapel...you won't believe what you are able to see. Like standing inside it in person. Most amazing and gorgeous. I would have never been able to see this in my lifetime.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In an unusual exhibit, the Vatican Museums has assembled 100 art works inspired by the New Testament vision of the Apocalypse. While the paintings, statues and engravings depict some catastrophic scenes, the emphasis is on hope and the victory of good over evil. In that sense, the exhibit takes a page from Pope Benedict XVI's audience talks last year, in which he said the Book of Revelation -- also known as the Apocalypse -- should not be read as a frightening warning of imminent destruction, but as an encouraging Christian vision. The images unveiled at the...

RALEIGH, Nc., Sept. 13 - A new discovery reveals a "mystery" never before seen. Investigative researcher Philip E. Dayvault, of Raleigh, NC, found in 2003 that the famed Sistine Chapel Ceiling fresco, painted by Michelangelo in 1512 and located at the Vatican in Rome, Italy, is also painted in allegory. Although the central panels of the Ceiling, or "historicals", are illustrated for literal interpretation, they also contain unique symbolic expression. Once decoded, Dayvault discovered that this expression graphically depicts the Shroud of Turin, in full and complete order. The Shroud of Turin is the traditional burial cloth of Jesus Christ....