Sistine Chapel
7
5.6
- proper noun
- /ˈsɪstɪn ˈʧæpəl/
:
Capilla Sixtina
- Visitors from around the world marvel at the stunning frescoes in the Sistine Chapel.
Examples
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When we arrived at Michelangelo's masterpiece fresco in the Sistine Chapel, there was absolute silence even though there were thousands of people in the room.
Blog text (10) -
After the Vatican, we were able to enter the Sistine Chapel.
Blog text (27) -
Vatican Museum & Sistine Chapel
Blog text (10) -
You may never be able to recreate the Sistine Chapel.
Blog text (27) -
One of the Medicis, Pope Sixtus the Fifth, asked Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel.
Fiction book (1997) -
Experts claim that Michelangelo's famous frescoes in the Sistine Chapel are under threat from hordes of tourists.
Blog text (29) -
Once he'd bought a glossy book about Michelangelo's paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
Fiction book (1996) -
During my trip to Vatican City, I had the opportunity to explore the Sistine Chapel and admire Michelangelo's works.
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The Pope often holds special ceremonies in the Sistine Chapel, which is renowned for its beautiful Renaissance art.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun 'chapel' clearly signals a small place of worship, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can infer this is a particular chapel. However, 'Sistine' is a proper-name-derived adjective whose specific referent (the Vatican chapel famous for Michelangelo's frescoes) is not derivable from the word itself, so the full, culturally specific meaning is not predictable without prior exposure.
Etymology
The Sistine Chapel is named after Pope 'Sixtus' IV: the word Sistine comes from his name and Chapel means a small church he had built. That's why today the Sistine Chapel refers to the special chapel in the Vatican that is famous for Michelangelo's painted ceiling.