10 Tourist Mistakes to Avoid in Rome

6. Don’t Snap Selfies in the Sistine Chapel

The official rule is there’s no photography in the Sistine Chapel, no matter how much you want to Intagram Michelangelo’s masterpiece ceiling. Yep, you see tourists trying to break this rule all the time, but it’s usually met with a chorus of “No photo! No video!” from the vigilant security guards. There’s a rule against flash photography in many museums around the world, including the Vatican Museums, mainly due to concerns of incessant flashes affecting the priceless artwork. That’s not the case in the Sistine Chapel. Expensive restoration work was done in the 1980s and, to help fund the endeavor, exclusive rights to photograph this artistic wonder were sold to the Nippon Television Network of Japan. This deal has since expired, but the official rule remains in place. After all, lovely photobooks are available at the gift shop. Consider this one of the things not to do when in Rome, although many tourists manage to sneak a snap now and then.