Religious Building · Vatican City, Vatican City
Sistine Chapel
The Sistine Chapel is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the pope's official residence in Vatican City. Built 1473.
Photo: The original uploader was Snowdog at Italian Wikipedia via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. Cropped and resized for display.
Landmark facts
| Location | Vatican City, Vatican City |
|---|---|
| Type | Religious Building |
| Built | 1473 |
| Architect | Baccio Pontelli |
| Height | Height: 21 m |
| Coordinates | 41.9031° N, 12.4544° E |
Every fact above is taken from the sources listed below; anything no source states is left blank rather than guessed.
What Sistine Chapel is known for
The Sistine Chapel is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the pope's official residence in Vatican City.
About Sistine Chapel
The Sistine Chapel is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the pope's official residence in Vatican City. Originally known as the Cappella Magna ('Great Chapel'), it takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, who had it built between 1473 and 1481. Since that time, it has served as a place of both religious and functionary papal activity.
History
While known as the location of papal conclaves, the primary function of the Sistine Chapel is as the chapel of the Papal Chapel (Cappella Pontificia), one of the two bodies of the papal household, called until 1968 the Papal Court (Pontificalis Aula). At the time of Pope Sixtus IV in the late 15th century, the Papal Chapel comprised about 200 people, including clerics, officials of the Vatican and distinguished laity. There were 50 occasions during the year on which it was prescribed by the Papal Calendar that the whole Papal Chapel should meet.
Planning a visit? Visit the official Sistine Chapel website — the official site has the current visiting information.
How to get there
| Nearest town | Vatican City |
|---|---|
| Nearest airport | Ciampino Airport (CIA) |
| Distance from the airport | 10.1 miles (straight line) |
Nearest major airport by straight-line distance from the landmark’s coordinates; road distance will be longer.
Airports near this landmark
The airports a visitor would actually fly into, nearest first — each link opens its profile on our sister site AirportProfiles.
- Ciampino–G. B. Pastine International Airport (CIA) · Rome, Italy · 10.2 miles away
- Rome–Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci International Airport (FCO) · Rome, Italy · 12.4 miles away
- Perugia San Francesco d'Assisi – Umbria International Airport (PEG) · Perugia (PG), Italy · 82.5 miles away
Landmarks nearby
The closest landmarks in this library, by straight-line distance.
More landmarks in Vatican City
More religious buildings
Frequently asked questions
What is Sistine Chapel?
The Sistine Chapel is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the pope's official residence in Vatican City.
Where is Sistine Chapel located?
Sistine Chapel is in Vatican City, Vatican City. Its coordinates are 41.9031° N, 12.4544° E.
How do I get to Sistine Chapel?
The nearest town is Vatican City, and the nearest airport is Ciampino Airport (CIA), about 10.1 miles away (straight line).
When was Sistine Chapel built?
Sistine Chapel was built 1473.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistine_Chapel — Wikipedia article — overview, history and core facts (CC BY-SA).
- https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2943 — Wikidata — built year, architect, height/size, visitors, official website (CC0).
- https://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/it.html — Official website of the landmark / managing body.
- https://github.com/jbrooksuk/JSON-Airports — Nearest major airport computed from landmark and airport coordinates (haversine); airport list: jbrooksuk/JSON-Airports.
Page last updated 13 November 2026.