While most flock to museums to experience world-famous artworks, some of the most influential pieces reside outside institutions—especially in Italy, where, during the Renaissance, a number of wealthy patrons commissioned works of art in smaller chapels.

Those chapels were intended as places where their family legacies could live on after their deaths. Many of them still contain some of the most incredible examples of art and architecture; most are open to the public.

There are many chapels, both within and beyond Italy. Which ones are most essential? Below is a list of the ones that cannot be missed.