npr:

I came across this incredible virtual tour of the Sistine Chapel today. It’s from 2010 and presents an amazing (and tourist free) look inside the building.

To create the 365-degree view, a team from Villanova University was given unprecedented access to the chapel over five nights to compile the necessary images.  According to the university’s press release, “several thousand photographs were taken with an advances motorize camera right and then digitally stitched together”. The result is a stunning high-resolution tour of one of the world’s most famous buildings.

The building was consecrated on August 15, 1483 and named after Pope Sixtus IV della Rovere. It wasn’t until 1508, however, that Michelangoelo was tasked with painting the now famous ceiling. According to the Vatican’s website, he finished it in 1512.

Take some time and discover this amazing piece of history.

—Savy