They will install a replica of the Sistine Chapel in the Zócalo of Mexico City

As of April 19, a replica of the Sistine Chapel in the Zócalo of Mexico City, famous for its Renaissance frescoes, where Michelangelo Buonarroti painted The Creation and The Last Judgment.

The announcement was made this Monday by authorities of the Government of Mexico City, the Ministry of Culture and the Mixed Fund for Tourism Promotion, in coordination with the Vatican Museums and the Primate Archdiocese of Mexico.

The head of government, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, pointed out that access to the exhibition will be free and aims to promote culture in Mexico City, as well as give those who do not have access the opportunity to visit this work of art personally in Rome. .

“Many people, millions of people in our country do not have the access to go to the Vatican to be able to see a work of art like this and today they will have the possibility of a first-class replica where they can arrive for free and be able to observe this cultural heritage wonder.

The head of the Office of the Head of Government and former Secretary of Culture of the City, José Alfonso Suárez del Real, explained that the installation of the Sistine Chapel seeks to commemorate three decades of diplomatic relations between the Vatican and the Mexican State.

Suárez del Real recalled the “intense” relations that Mexico and the Holy See have maintained since 1992, and as an example he highlighted the successive visits made as heads of state by Popes John Paul II, Benedict XV and Francis, between 1993 and 2016.

The representative of the Apostolic Nunciature, Monsignor Ángel Luis Lorente Gutiérrez, explained that the exhibition of the replica of the Sistine Chapel brings the people of Mexico closer to one of the most emblematic artistic riches in history, where the work of Michelangelo, of Pietro Perugino, by Domenico Ghirlandaio, by Sandro Botticelli, by Cosimo Roselli, among other artists.

“I hope that we all have the opportunity, especially those who will never have the access to visit her personally in Rome; thanks to the Government of the City, thanks to the Apostolic Nunciature, to the Vatican Museums, we will be able to have this wonderful work of art at our disposal and within our reach in this Zócalo of the capital during the next month”, he said.

The Sistine Chapel owes its name to Pope Sixtus IV, who ordered its restoration between 1477 and 1480. Between 1508 and 1512, commissioned by Pope Julius II, Michelangelo decorated the vault, creating an unprecedented work of art that would change the course of the world. western art. Years later, between 1536 and 1541, he carved The Last Judgment on the altar wall, under the pontificates of Clement VII and Paul III.

Currently, the Sistine Chapellocated in the Apostolic Palace, in Rome, and which is part of the Vatican Museums, is visited annually by millions of pilgrims from all over the world, and is the seat of the College of Cardinals, where the cardinals of the Catholic Church elect the Pope.

The installation in Plinth will be open to the public from April 19 to May 19 and visiting hours will be from Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:40 p.m., and to guarantee the safety of this reproduction, admission will be made in groups of 300 people every 20 minutes.

Being a closed space, there will be a sanitary protocol to verify temperature and maintain a healthy distance. It will also have exclusive access for people with disabilities, older adults and pregnant women.

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