Where is it: Niccolina is tucked inside the Tower of Innocent III, on the second floor of the Palazzo Vaticano, which is part of the Vatican Museums. The dominating images are of Christian martyrs St. Stephen and St. Lawrence, as recounted in the Acts of the Apostles.
Vatican vacation: OK, so how secret can it be if you can get a tour? Yes, travel agencies laud the chapel as part of those "special-access tours." But entry, even to V.I.P.s, apparently has been barred, literally. "The best you can do," says one travel site,"is sort of lean over the bar and crane your neck for a peek at these glorious frescoes."
Angelic painter: This chapel's frescoes were painted in 1447 by an angel: In his day (1395-1455), Fra Giovanni emerged a renowned Italian painter, although the Dominican friar would be eclipsed by the likes of Michelangelo and Botticelli. The Met praised him for being at the "forefront of artistic innovation in Florence." After his death, he was crowned Fra Angelico, and in 1982 il Beato Angelico was beatified.
Its namesake: The name Niccolina refers to its 15th-century patron, Pope Nicolas V, renowned as a scholar and impassioned about book collecting. As pope, however, he paid attention to infrastructure and art, from restoring waterways to papal palaces. He has been credited with making the Vatican "the worthy residence of the popes."
New World gold: Vatican architecture isn't known to be subtle. The chapel may have been intended to be private, but artist Fra Angelico didn't stint on grandeur: He borrowed a trick from his expertise in manuscript illuminations and gilded the walls with gold brought to Europe by Christopher Columbus.
Private chapels: Besides Sistine and Niccolina, the Apostolic Palace also houses the Pauline Chapel, which holds Michelangelo's last two murals. The Vatican press office declared this "the most intimate and private among the chapels" that evokes "even more than the Sistine ... the mission and destiny of the Universal Church."
The Sistine Chapel has closed its doors to become a temporary papal polling place. While the world largely knows about the Renaissance-era chapel — its lavish artistry showcasing the works of Michelangelo and Botticelli — the Apostolic Palace holds a papal retreat, Cappella Niccolina (Niccoline Chapel), the Pope's so-called private chapel within the Vatican. The "small and secret" chapel is not even mentioned on the Vatican's website of basilicas and papal chapels. but those who have seen it say it is "every bit as beautiful as the Sistine Chapel." -- By Vera Chan, Yahoo!
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