From Rome to Sydney: Michelangelo’s heavenly ceilings are being reborn in a world-first immersive experience.

The exhibition –– located in Sydney’s iconic St Mary’s Cathedral –– will open to the public on Saturday, with tickets selling fast.

It will run for over two months until the 19th of July, inviting visitors “reflect on the relationship between art and meaning,” and “consider how beauty shapes civilisation”.

The exhibition is hosted by the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney, who received express permission from Vatican Museums to reimagine Michelangelo’s famous frescoes.

Exhibition Director Jane Dillion said that the “project is about more than replication, it’s about evoking the awe of the Sistine Chapel in a completely new context.”

The exhibition brings the splendor of the Sistine Chapel to life with cutting-edge projection technology and ultra-high-resolution imagery sourced directly from the Vatican archives.

Creative lead Lawrence Qummou said that “we want to…use the best of the technologies available to us to experience the Sistine Chapel anew, enabling people who will never get to Rome to experience the most famous ceiling in the world.”

The exhibition comprises two spaces: the Introductory Gallery, which provides key historical context on the Sistine Chapel, and the Immersive Projection Chamber — the centrepiece of the experience — which recreates the interior of the chapel.

The Sistine Chapel is a world renowned Renaissance chapel in the Vatican City. Built in the 15th century, the chapel is host to the Papal Conclave (where a new pope is elected), and attracts millions of visitors a year.

At its heart is Michelangelo’s ‘The Last Judgment’, which frames the ceiling and is now set to be projected inside Sydney’s St Mary’s Cathedral.

The exhibition promises a “profound encounter with the art, history and imagination of the Renaissance,” with Director Dillion saying that the “installation…captures the Chapel’s breathtaking proportions, and translates that sense of wonder into an accessible, immersive experience for audiences in the heart of Sydney.”