{"id":3892,"date":"2013-03-07T15:43:36","date_gmt":"2013-03-07T15:43:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/walks.friday.ie\/?p=3892"},"modified":"2026-11-01T11:33:13","modified_gmt":"2026-11-01T11:33:13","slug":"sistine-chapel-closure-for-papal-conclave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/travel-tips\/sistine-chapel-closure-for-papal-conclave","title":{"rendered":"Sistine Chapel Conclave: Closed for the 2013 Papal Conclave"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Will the upcoming papal conclave affect your visit to the Sistine Chapel? In a word: Yes. Which, since the conclave is held <em>in\u00a0<\/em>the Sistine Chapel, shouldn&#8217;t be surprising, even if it<em> is<\/em> disappointing! So what is the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thesistinechapel.org\/conclave\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sistine Chapel Conclave<\/a>?<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_3757\" style=\"width: 1065px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3757\" class=\"wp-image-3757 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Sistine-Chapel.jpeg\" alt=\"The Sistine Chapel\" width=\"1055\" height=\"880\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Sistine-Chapel.jpeg 1055w, https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Sistine-Chapel-768x641.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1055px) 100vw, 1055px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-3757\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Sistine Chapel is currently closed, and won&#8217;t reopen until after the papal conclave.<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_80 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/travel-tips\/sistine-chapel-closure-for-papal-conclave\/#History_of_the_Sistine_Chapel_Conclave\" >History of the Sistine Chapel Conclave<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/travel-tips\/sistine-chapel-closure-for-papal-conclave\/#When_is_the_conclave\" >When is the conclave?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/travel-tips\/sistine-chapel-closure-for-papal-conclave\/#What_can_I_do_if_my_visit_is_affected_by_the_conclave\" >What can I do if my visit is affected by the conclave?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/travel-tips\/sistine-chapel-closure-for-papal-conclave\/#Other_options_for_visiting_the_Vatican_Museums\" >Other options for visiting the Vatican Museums<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"History_of_the_Sistine_Chapel_Conclave\"><\/span>History of the Sistine Chapel Conclave<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In a nutshell, the Sistine Chapel Conclave &#8211; also known as the Papal Conclave &#8211; is an event when cardinals convene in the Sistine Chapel to select the new Pope. The Sistine Chapel has served as the permanent venue for every conclave since 1878 &#8211; and its first usage for this purpose dates back to 1492!<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"When_is_the_conclave\"><\/span>When is the conclave?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Unfortunately, we still don&#8217;t know. It could be as early as Monday, March 11, 2013. It could be as late as, well, later than that (but probably by March 15 or 16). At this point, it&#8217;s all speculation. This year, the Sistine Chapel closed on March 5, 2013. It won&#8217;t reopen until the conclave has finished and a new pope has been picked.<\/p>\n<p>Disappointed that you won&#8217;t get to see the Sistine Chapel? We get it. But comfort yourself with the fact that at least you&#8217;re missing Michelangelo&#8217;s frescoes for a \u00a0<em>very\u00a0<\/em>historic reason. Not only are papal conclaves always a big deal, of course, but the last time a pope resigned, the year was 1415. So this is an especially historic event. Check out our earlier post for more on <a href=\"http:\/\/walksofitaly.com\/blog\/vatican\/pope-conclave-2013\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">exactly what a papal conclave really is<\/a> and how it works!<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_can_I_do_if_my_visit_is_affected_by_the_conclave\"><\/span>What can I do if my visit is affected by the conclave?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Did you book a Vatican tour with us during this period? While we have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/vatican-tours\/key-masters-tour-sistine-chapel-vatican-museums\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">lots of special access privileges to the Vatican<\/a>, visiting the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/attractions\/the-sistine-chapel-in-the-vatican-museums\">Sistine Chapel<\/a> while the cardinals are in there, voting on the new pope, is unfortunately, not one of them! So email us at info@walksofitaly.com to find out exactly how your tour will be affected, and what your options are (including rebooking the tour for another date, or canceling it altogether for a full refund. <a>Thanks for your understanding!<\/a><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Other_options_for_visiting_the_Vatican_Museums\"><\/span>Other options for visiting the Vatican Museums<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>If you are planning to visit the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel, check out our\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/vatican-tours\/pristine-sistine-chapel-tour\/\">Pristine Sistine<\/a>\u00a0tour, which lets you into the chapel before the general public, or our\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/vatican-tours\/key-masters-tour-sistine-chapel-vatican-museums\/\">VIP Vatican Key Master\u2019s Tour: Unlock the Sistine Chapel<\/a>\u00a0where you\u2019ll enter the Vatican Museums with the Key Master before dawn and have the place to yourself for two full hours.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Will the upcoming papal conclave affect your visit to the Sistine Chapel? In a word: Yes. Which, since the conclave is held in\u00a0the Sistine Chapel, shouldn&#8217;t be surprising, even if it is disappointing! So what is the Sistine Chapel Conclave? History of the Sistine Chapel Conclave In a nutshell, the Sistine Chapel Conclave &#8211; also [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3757,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[19],"ppma_author":[155],"class_list":["post-3892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel-tips","tag-vatican"],"authors":[{"term_id":155,"user_id":3,"is_guest":0,"slug":"walksofitaly","display_name":"Walks of Italy","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9f4cd4dd0c5ab4b4bae57f3500298e23?s=96&d=mm&r=g","user_url":"http:\/\/walksofitaly.com\/blog","last_name":"of Italy","first_name":"Walks","job_title":"","description":"Walks began life as the passion project of two guys with one simple mission: To share their love for, and knowledge of, the city of Rome. Since then, Walks has grown into a team of over 100 ground staff and at any time up to 600 guides, operating across 13 of the world\u2019s most exciting cities (and counting!)\r\n\r\nToday we provide some of the most exclusive and beautifully designed small group tours in the industry through Italy-based Walks of Italy and around the world at Walks, where we offer special access to some of the world\u2019s most iconic landmarks and attractions as well as unique cultural experiences."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3892"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3892"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3892\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18529,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3892\/revisions\/18529"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3892"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=3892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}