The Sistine Chapel in Valencia offers a unique immersive experience

The historic church of San Nicolás Valencia , known as the "Sistine Chapel of Valencia," will open to the public on July 1st with "La Luz de San Nicolás," an immersive experience that fuses history, spirituality, art, and advanced technology. This sensory light and sound show takes the experience of visiting this monument far beyond the traditional tour and allows visitors to rediscover it in a different way.

Immersive tourism (combining technology, light, image, and sound in a physical space) is a growing trend that is gaining more and more followers. Tokyo is a world leader, but Spain has also launched some very interesting and varied offerings, such as the Monumental Tour at the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar ; the VRA360 project at the Villa Romana Open-Air Museum in Albir ; and the immersive tour of Casa Batlló .

The project tells the story of the church and highlights all its elements in a play of colors that fuses history, spirituality, art, and advanced technology. Furthermore, the installation will remain permanently in the church. If there's one thing that characterizes the Parish of San Nicolás, it's that it's a dynamic space that combines tradition with innovation. In fact, it broadcasts mass live every Sunday and Monday through its YouTube channel.

The Parish Church is one of the 10 most visited monuments in Valencia , according to official data, and this permanent installation seeks to preserve and showcase the artistic legacy and message of Saint Nicholas . A must-see monument in the city, it regained its splendor in 2016 following restoration work carried out thanks to the patronage of the Hortensia Herrero Foundation.

'The Light of Saint Nicholas' is a series of three interventions that, using different languages, review key events in the parish's history, cast a fresh look at its emblematic Baroque vault , and honor the figure of its patron saint. The show allows visitors to learn about the history of the church from its creation in the 15th century in the Gothic style to its adaptation to the Baroque style at the end of the 17th century, as well as its subsequent restoration over the past decade (completed in 2021).

This experience adds to San Nicolás' cultural offering , which includes seven types of tours: those with audio guides in five languages, children's audio guides, guided tours with specialized staff, educational tours, family tours, Premium tours, and night tours.

This project represents the Parish's determined commitment to continue disseminating its historical and artistic heritage in a sustainable, accessible, and universal way.

Conceived as a tribute to beauty, this milestone of engineering and digital creativity in the service of heritage offers an immersive journey through three experiences:

- Tribute to beauty : through impressive video mapping of the temple's vault, the Baroque decoration and fresco paintings that have earned it the nickname of the 'Valencian Sistine Chapel' are constructed and enhanced.

- The Heartbeat of Saint Nicholas : The history of the Parish is presented through interactive totems that allow you to navigate through time and learn about its main milestones with original music and animations.

- Lux ex oriente : a stained-glass window of light that generates an experience of contemplation and meditation introduced by the symbols or attributes of the parish's patron saint, Saint Nicholas.

The project was developed over more than nine months with the participation of a multidisciplinary team of more than 50 professionals. It included 83 technological devices and 14 synchronized projectors.

To make it a reality, 90 million points of light were scanned and 447.12 billion points of light and 16.5 million pixels per frame were projected, in addition to rendering 3.8 trillion final pixels and generating 1.5 million files.