Once-in-a-lifetime Houston exhibit offers rare glimpse inside the Sistine Chapel

HOUSTON, Texas -- There are few tourist attractions in the world as compelling and in-demand as Michelangelo's iconic artwork in The Vatican. According to a recent report, more than 25,000 visitors flock to the Roman chapel daily to stare in awe at the frescoes that decorate the interior - most notably, the mind-blowing ceiling that was painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512.

Yes, it is an experience being in the Sistine Chapel (A year ago, a New Yorker article declared it can be too much of an experience, with shouting guards moving crowds along for "a fifteen-minute neck-craning exercise in mostly futile inspection"). However, if you've ever wanted to visit the chapel, but didn't have the means to go to Italy, the chapel's most striking, immortal visions will be on full view right there in H-Town.

Starting on June 8, "Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition" will be unveiled for a two-month run at event space The Corinthian. Needless to say, the artwork won't be the genuine article. Expect full-sized, photographed replicas of the artist's vault frescoes, along with his 40-foot-high The Last Judgment, from the altar wall.

Read more from CultureMap.