Commissioned by Pope Sixtus V at the end of the 16th Century, the lavishly adorned Sistine Hall remains among the Vatican Library's most historically significant spaces. Housing approximately 80,000 manuscripts, around 27,000 of which are digitised, the library remains open for scholars and students wishing to consult the papal collection's vast array of writings and works of art, including the first attempted illustrated version of Dante's Divine Comedy. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES ARRANGED IN SEQUENCES