EUROPE : SISTINE CHAPEL TURNS 500 - VIRTUAL TOUR - POPE'S PRAISES

Every year 5 million people visit the Sistine Chapel. On average 10, 000 - 20, 0000 people enter the chapel per day. (Image source: GOOGLE ) The Sistine Chapel is now 500 years old. Pope Benedict held Vespers in the Chapel and called it a  “liturgical classroom”. He explained that “It is as if during the liturgical action, the entire symphony of figures comes alive, certainly in the spiritual sense, but also…in the aesthetic sense,” The Pontiff said, “The Sistine Chapel, encompassed in prayer, is even more beautiful, more authentic; it reveals all of its treasures.”
The artist Michelangelo worked on the paintings for 4 years, from 1508 to 1512. It encompasses over 1000 square meters.

Benedict XVI said,

“The idea that permeates the great work: it is the light of God that illuminates these frescoes and the entire Papal Chapel. That light, with its power, conquers the chaos and darkness to give life; in creation and in redemption. The Sistine Chapel tells the story of light, liberation, salvation; it speaks of God's relationship with humanity,”.

CLICK LINK TO ENTER THE SISTINE CHAPEL VIRTUALLY
http://www.vatican.va/various/cappelle/sistina_vr/index.html