An immersive true-to-scale Sistine Chapel is coming to London for a brand new exhibition

an image showing guests looking at one of the works — (Image credit: Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition)

There are many wonderful Italian exports that have slowly migrated over to Britain – spaghetti bolognese, Aperol Spritz, Bruno Tonioli. Now, one of the most famous frescos is coming to London…

Okay, it’s not exactly coming to London as apart from the customs and services import fees, the whole set up and packing would not really be sustainable. Instead, a brand new experience is heading to London this summer, hoping to immerse visitors in the same staggering scenery of Michelangelo legendary art works.

Titled Michelangelo Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition, the experience is set to be similar to those giant, spectacular exhibitions that catapult you into the world of Van Gogh and Gustav Klimt. Namely, it will be an intricate replication of the 34 frescoes that make up the chapel’s iconic ceiling on a massive scale. However, rather than the usual projections that create these optical illusion-esque experiences, this version will be actual canvas reproductions, showing the story of Genesis in beautiful, high detailed scale.

an image showing a large room with works from the Michelangelo across the walls and ceiling

Unlike the actual Sistine Chapel, you won’t be cricking your neck for hours to admire the frescos, as the canvases will cover the space at all levels – from eyes to the Gods. Rather than taking over a wing in an established gallery or museum, the exhibition will be setting up its own space in America Square, near Tower Bridge.

Guests will be able to admire Michelangelo's masterpieces up close like never before. The exhibition has already debuted across the world, including Shanghai, Berlin, Vienna, and Melbourne, so it’s a pretty sure-fire hit.

Tickets are priced £19.50 peak and £17.50 off-peak which actually works out around the same price as the €20 admission for the actual Chapel, just without the £60 Ryanair flights and £100s in luggage. Tickets are now on sale, and are available via the exhibition's website and Fever.

The exhibition will be opening on 18th May and running for a fairly short stint, closing on 6th September.

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Hermione Blandford is the Content Editor for Shortlist’s social media which means you can usually find her scrolling through Instagram and calling it work, or stopping random people in the street and accosting them with a mini mic. She has previously worked in food and drink PR for brands including Johnnie Walker, Tanqueray, Gordon's, The Singleton, Lagavulin and Don Julio which means she is a self confessed expert in spicy margaritas and pints, regularly popping into the pub in the name of research.