Template:POTD/2004-07-16

Picture of the day
[[File:|300px|Left section of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel after restoration]]
Left section of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel after restoration.

The Sistine Chapel is a religious chapel and one of the most famous artistic treasures of the Vatican, built between 1475 and 1483, in the time of Pope Sixtus IV della Rovere.

The chapel is known worldwide both for being the hall in which conclaves and other official ceremonies are held, including some papal coronations, and for having been decorated by Michelangelo. The subjects of the pictures were historical religious themes. Michelangelo was employed to paint only 12 figures, the Apostles, but when the work was finished there were more than 3,000.Photo credit: Adrian Pingstone using a artchive.com source