Bramante is responsible for the design of the apse of the Roman church of Santa Maria del Popolo, constructed in 1508.

The two oldest stained glass windows in Rome can be found here, made by French artist Guillaume de Marcillat.

Pinturicchio decorated the vault with frescoes, including the Coronation of the Virgin.

The tombs of Cardinals Ascanio Sforza and Girolamo Basso della Rovere, both made by Andrea Sansovino, can also be found in the apse.

On Raphael’s return from Florence in 1508, he and his school begin frescoing the Stanze della Segnatura of Pope Julius II.

Il Sodoma, visiting Rome in this year, comes under Raphael’s influence.

Also in 1508, Michelangelo begins an immense project for Julius, the frescoing of the barrel-vaulted ceiling of the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel with a pictorial cycle devoted to the biblical history of humanity.

Michelangelo’s scenes illustrate the Book of Genesis, from the Creation to the Flood.