PRESS RELEASE

Extraordinary exhibition of two of Raphael’s tapestries in the Sistine Chapel

23 October – 4 November

Vatican City, 23 October 2025 – On the occasion of the visits of Their Royal Highnesses King Charles III and Queen Camilla, and the ecumenical prayer for the care of Creation, presided over by Pope Leo XIV in the Sistine Chapel, the Vatican Museums have the pleasure of presenting the Sistine Chapel magnificently adorned with two precious tapestries from the series of the Acts of the Apostles based on cartoons by Raphael (Urbino 1483-Rome 1520).

From 23 October to 4 November, visitors to the Vatican Museums will have the exceptional opportunity to admire, during opening hours, the two tapestries in the location for which they were conceived and commissioned by Pope Leo X. A homage to the “divine” Raphael, but also an evocative reminder of the ancient custom of adorning the major Papal Chapel during solemn liturgical ceremonies in the distant past.

The desire of Pope Leo X (1513-1521) to leave a lasting sign in the Sistine Chapel, one of the most symbolic places of Christianity, resulted in the commissioning of the famous series of tapestries depicting the Acts of the Apostles. The work was intended to decorate the lower part of the chapel walls, already embellished by fifteenth-century frescoes painted under Sixtus IV, and Michelangelo's vault created for Julius II.

For this prestigious undertaking, the Pope entrusted Raphael Sanzio (1483–1520) with the task of designing the preparatory cartoons depicting the stories of the apostles Peter and Paul, and the renowned Brussels tapestry maker Pieter Van Aelst (c. 1450–1532/1533), who oversaw their weaving with silk, gold and silver threads. By 1515, the cartoons had been completed and sent to Flanders for the tapestries to be made.

In 1519, seven of the ten tapestries arrived in Rome and were displayed in the Sistine Chapel on 26 December, on the feast of Saint Stephen. The splendour of the materials, the refinement of the execution and the novelty of Raphael's figurative language inspired general admiration, as contemporary chronicles attest. The last three tapestries arrived by 1521, shortly before the death of Leo X.

The combination of the Pope's cultural ambition, Raphael's creative genius and Van Aelst's technical expertise gave rise to an absolute masterpiece of Renaissance textile art, already celebrated by Giorgio Vasari as “a work more akin to a miracle than human artifice”.

Today, on the occasion of the great event and in homage to King Charles III, who possesses seven of Raphael’s cartoons, conserved in the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) from which the two precious tapestries in the series were woven, The Martyrdom of Saint Stephen and The Miraculous Draught of Fishes are on display in the Sistine Chapel.

This initiative is therefore not only an extraordinary tribute to Renaissance genius, but also highlights the cultural bond between the Church and the United Kingdom on the occasion of this historic visit.

Visiting times from Monday to Saturday: from 8.00 to 20.00 (last entry at 18.00).

Free visit, included in the cost of the Vatican Museums entry ticket.

Visiting times on Sunday 26 October 2025: from 9.00 to 14.00 (last entry at 12.30).

Visit free of charge on the last Sunday of the month.

INFORMATION

Vatican Museums Press Office: stampa.musei@scv.va - tel. 06 69883041

www.museivaticani.va