Sunday, November 8, 2020

Sistine Chapel


We just learned about the Gutenberg Bible.

Another part of early Christianity is the Sistine Chapel.

In 1473 AD the builder Baccio Pontelli tore down an old chapel that was falling over and built a new big chapel for the pope at the time called Pope Sixtus IV.
It was called the "Cappella Magna" or Great Chapel, it was the new home for the Pope and was full of many famous works of art by artists like Boticelli and Michelangelo.
The name was changed to the Sistine Chapel for the name of Pope Sixtus.

When the church is trying to choose a new pope, they put a chimney up on the roof.
If all of the church leaders agree on the pope then they throw all their ballots in the fireplace and it makes white smoke out of the top of the chimney, telling everyone that there is a new pope.
If they can not agree, then they put some other things in the fireplace to make black smoke come out of the chimney to tell everyone they have not made up their minds yet.


(from: wikipedia - sistine chapel)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Pentarchy