Basilica of St. Peter

The Pauline Chapel is a Renaissance chapel located in the Vatican Palace in Rome. It is named after Pope Paul III, who had it built between 1537 and 1539. Two large frescoes by Michelangelo, dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul, adorn its side walls. The chapel's architect, Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, built it on the foundations of an earlier chapel, the "cappella parva", which housed the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. Since the "cappella magna (future Sistine Chapel) fell into ruin in the mid-15th century, the "cappella parva" has been used for conclaves.

The Sistine Chapel, built between about 1475 and 1481, is known to contain the works of some of the greatest Italian artists of the second half of the 15th century, including frescoes by Michelangelo Buonarroti, which cover the vault (about 1508-1512) and the back wall (of the Last Judgement) above the altar (about 1535-1541). It is also the place where the conclave and other official ceremonies of the Pope take place.

The church of San Lorenzo in Piscibus was probably founded as early as the 6th century, but the first verifiable mention of the church dates back to the end of the 12th century. In 1663, the entire complex was entrusted to the Piarists who, in 1672, had the church radically restored in Baroque style under the direction of Francesco Massari. In 1731 the convent was demolished and rebuilt in 1773 according to the design of Giovanni Domenico Navone, who also designed a new façade for the church. When the Via della Conciliazione was built, the church was not demolished (only the baroque façade and the atrium were demolished) and was integrated into the modern buildings on the left side of Piazza Pio XII.