Apostolic Palace - the official residence of the Pope, located in Vatican City. Also known as the Palace of the Popes and the Vatican Palace. In the Vatican, the building is known as the Palace of Sixtus V in honor of Pope Sixtus V.

Apostolic Palace consists of the papal apartments, the various offices of the Catholic Church and the Holy See, public and private chapels, the Vatican Museums and the Vatican Library, including apartments Borgia, now used for storage of works of art.

Back in 1377, the Avignon to Rome after capture, yard first pope chose as his residence the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere, and then - the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. By the time the old Vatican palace came to a complete standstill, and the Lateran Palace, the former official residence of the Popes once, twice subjected to serious fires. In 1447, Pope Nicholas V demolished an ancient fortified structure, to build in its place the current Apostolic Palace. Then, over a hundred years the palace rebuilt and decorated. Its present appearance, he began to acquire in the late 16th century when Pope Sixtus V. In the 20th century on the orders of Pope Pius XI was constructed the monumental entrance to the art gallery and museum.

To be precise, the Apostolic Palace consists of several separate buildings, situated around a courtyard Sixtus V (Kortile Di Sisto V). He stands to the north-east of St Peter's Basilica near the bastion of Nicholas V and Palazzo Gregorio XIII.

Borgia Apartments - is a series of rooms in the palace, intended for personal use of Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo de Borgia). It was he who in the late 15th century commissioned Italian artist Pinturicchio frescoes decorate the apartment. The rooms are part of the Vatican Library and the Vatican Museum - most of them are now occupied by the Vatican's collection of modern religious art, which was launched in 1973 on the initiative of Pope Paul VI.

Klimentinsky hall was built in the 16th century by order of Pope Clement VIII in honor of his predecessor, Pope Clement I. As other chapels and apartments of the palace, this room is notable for its huge collection of frescoes and other works of art.

But perhaps the most famous location of the Apostolic Palace is the Sistine Chapel, named after Pope Sixtus IV. It is famous for its frescoes, the work of outstanding masters of the Renaissance - Michelangelo, Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Pinturicchio, Domenico Ghirlandaio and others.