Vatican rents the Sistine Chapel for a private event for the first time

Vatican - For the first time, the Vatican has allowed the rental of the famous Sistine Chapel for a private event. Tonight, under Michelangelo's frescoes, forty people participating in an exclusive trip to the Italian metropolis organized by the car manufacturer Porsche will listen to a concert. The proceeds from the rental are intended for charitable purposes, wrote the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph.
    The Vatican authorities did not disclose how much the rental of the magnificent space, where among other things cardinals gather for the papal election, costs. A five-day sightseeing trip to Rome, which is attended by 40 people according to the Porsche travel club, costs 5000 euros (138,000 CZK) per person.
    In addition to the concert in the Sistine Chapel, where the choir of the Roman music school Accademia di Santa Cecilia will perform, travelers will await a gala dinner in the Vatican Museums.
    "This is an initiative that will support the charitable activities of the Pope. Large corporations will contribute to charity by paying a fee," said the administrative head of the Vatican Museums, Paolo Nicolini.
    On Thursday, the Vatican announced plans to limit the number of tourists allowed to visit the Sistine Chapel each year. To protect the frescoes, it is said that a maximum of six million people can be admitted to the chapel.
    The chapel began construction in 1477 at the command of Pope Sixtus IV. In 1506, Pope Julius II invited Michelangelo Buonarroti to decorate the ceiling of the building. This Renaissance artist then spent the period between 1508 and 1512 working there. The ceiling depicts the Creation of the World and Original Sin. Surrounding it are scenes from the Old and New Testament. The frescoes have an incalculable value.