Sistine chapel closed until further notice

Not for long. The new Pope is ready. Here he is

Roberto! You are an endless source of entertainment! ;-)

. . . .and here I was thinking it might be Stephen Colbert.

nice one Roberto

I thought it was gonna be Rick!

Indeed, there is a strong rumor out of the Vatican that the new Pope will be an interim one. An Italian by the name of Sicola. Think about it.

Scola? The Archbishop of Milan? I doubt it. With all the financial scandals hitting his Catholic powerful friends in Milan, including the Governor of Lombardy? Not too sure about that. But possible. If they want a transition Pope they would go with Angelo Sodano. He's already 85. Actually he might be a likely choice unless they find the courage to go with a non-European.

Roberto, Roberto, Roberto. Sicola, not Scola. As in Pope Sicola. :-)

Aha! Now I get it. Pope Sicola hits the spot ....

That's cold Gord.

Do you guys think it will reopen before Palm Sunday if the new Pope is voted in this week? We'll be in Rome that weekend and I was hoping to get into the Sistine. Would be a big disappointment if it doesn't work out.

Iy took a few days to install some special equipment tor the conclave, so the Sistine Chapel will probably be closed for a few days after the conclave ends to remove all the stuff, unless some damage occurs during that process which would delay the reopening.

Jeremy, that's a Sunday, and unless things have changed, the museums are not open most Sundays (one a month, as I recall, but I haven't checked). I'd suggest you go the the museum part of the website, vatican.va, and check the open days/hours.

Vatican Museum is typically open on the last Sunday of the month along with being free admission. Easter this year falls on the last Sunday of March so it could be interesting.

We're actually planning to go to the Vatican on friday before palm Sunday. I scheduled a scavi tour in the early afternoon with the intention of visiting the sistine beforehand.

We're actually planning to go to the Vatican on friday before palm Sunday. I scheduled a scavi tour in the early afternoon with the intention of visiting the sistine beforehand.