High End Real Estate: Pope Francis Rents Out Sistine Chapel

From Car and Driver:

Of two things we’d least expect to appear together in a single news tidbit, it would be difficult to find a pairing more bizarre than “Porsche” and “the Sistine Chapel.” Lo and behold, it happened. Or at least, it’s happening soon—Automotive News Europe reports that Porsche has rented out the Sistine Chapel—you know, the one in Vatican City with Michelangelo’s famous painting The Creation of Adam on the ceiling?—for a private concert this month.

As easy as it would be to toss the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch into this whole thing and whine about corporate incursion on, well, holy sites, some background is in order. Porsche is renting the highly trafficked space for a concert of around 40 or so people as part of a roughly $6300 Tour of Rome event, and the rental fee Porsche is paying the Vatican for use of the Sistine Chapel will go to charity. You see, the Pope recently opened the Sistine Chapel to rental for private events to raise additional funds to help the less fortunate. (In case you’re wondering, the rental does not include an in-person appearance by His Holiness.)

 Porsche just so happens to be the first company to take advantage—and we’re pretty sure it has nothing to do with paying penance for stuff like the Cayenne and Panamera....MORE