Spanning a huge space in the old Sears store at Barton Creek Square is something extraordinary: a close-up look at the painted images in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel. The ceiling was painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512, faster than a newly-widened highway in Austin.
As any visitor to the real thing knows, the ceiling is so far ‘up there’ (68 feet) that details cannot really be seen.
Enter the Sistine Chapel Experience. For the first time ever, you can immerse yourself in the glories of the chapel with the images just a few feet away.
Penn Parish, an Austin-based organizer of the Experience, gave me an overview of what it took to create this.
“Our journey began over three years ago. We received a call from a Vatican official wanting to introduce us to Scripta Maneant Editori, a Bologna based publisher of fine art books. Scripta has spent over 65 nights inside the Sistine Chapel taking millions of photographs with finely tuned Canon equipment. From this they boiled it down to 270,000 images and quickly created several wonderful books of the art complete with descriptions.
“We then asked another partner who is a publisher in Warsaw to join us in creating a major exhibition to feature art in a way never before seen by the public. The result was a 25,000 sq ft exhibit resplendent with four major areas dedicated to all things Sistine Chapel. The great hall held the life size replica of the Pieta, the larger of our book on display, a replica of the Gutenberg Bible and other enlarged photos from the Sistine.
“Gallery 1 became our museum-like history gallery with six “totems” standing 8 feet tall and 4 feet wide each with a historical fact on the history of the Sistine Chapel. Gallery 2 became our movie gallery with a major production by Gary Lucchesi and James Younger, both noted Hollywood producers. The15-minute film gives the customer insights into what they will experience in Gallery 3, matching the Sistine in. length and width and featuring a lowered ceiling for ease of viewing. This immersive gallery lasts 25 minutes and shows in exact detail the colors and brush strokes not visible in the Chapel.
“Our goal was to bring the Sistine Chapel to those who could not get to Rome, we are extremely proud of the exhibit and the art, history and stories behind it.”
The technology to bring such an iconic place to the masses is awesome, and I don’t use that word lightly! This is not just a projection of static images; for much of the time, it appears as if we are panning across different swathes of the immensity that is Michelangelo’s masterpiece.
Don’t miss this if you say to yourself “I’ve been to the Vatican, and saw it in person.” This kaleidoscopic presentation will give you a new appreciation of the works of Michelangelo. And for those who have not been the Vatican, this is a very inexpensive way to view the greatest interior in the world. The Experience was first mounted in Poland. Future locations are listed below.
In the entryway between the three Galleries is a full-size copy of the Pieta, the prime example of Michelangelo as sculptor (photo here). The spacious entryway also features a giftshop with T-shirts, posters and select imagery priced between $595 and $1995.
For some lucky person who wants to splurge, don’t miss THE BOOK. It’s actually 3 volumes, as Parish described by the publisher Scripta. Only a single 3-vol set of these enormous books has been created. Despite the page size, some images are so huge they are on fold-out pages covering triple the footprint. I won’t divulge the price, but the set is five figures. Just the sort of thing the British Library should have!
For tickets, visit
It is on display thru Apr 26/26. The Presenting sponsor here is Ascension Seton
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Opening November 28, 2025.
Providence, RI: At Warwick Mall, October 17, 2025 – January 18, 2026.
Sydney, Australia: At Fever Pavilion, August 29 – November 30, 2025.
Paris, France: Dates and location to be announced.