For one week the great tapestries designed by Raphael will return to the Sistine Chapel as the Vatican celebrates the 500th anniversary of the death of the High Renaissance master. The 10 tapestries, which will be hung at eye level along the chapel's wall under Michelangelo's frescoed ceiling, will be on display from 17-23 February 2020.

Commissioned by Pope Leo X in 1515, the tapestries' designs, or cartoons as they were known, depict the lives of Saints Peter and Paul. They were completed by Raphael while he was busy decorating the Stanze (also called the Raphael Rooms), presiding over the construction of St Peter’s Basilica, and painting portraits and altarpieces.