  Ground-based gamma-ray astronomy has experienced a major breakthrough in the
last decade thanks to the advent of new generation instruments such as
H.E.S.S., MAGIC, Milagro and VERITAS. A large variety of cosmic particle
accelerators has been unveiled, comprising supermassive black holes in the
centres of active galaxies, nearby star forming galaxies, Galactic supernova
remnants and pulsar wind nebulae, and stellar binary systems housing a compact
object. While current instruments revealed the tips of the non-thermal icebergs
in our Universe, a factor of 10 increase in sensitivity, improved angular
resolution and an extended energy coverage is required to fully explore and
understand the physics of cosmic particle acceleration. The Cherenkov Telescope
Array (CTA) will provide these performances, by deploying two arrays of
Cherenkov telescopes in the northern and southern hemispheres, allowing
full-sky coverage. In this paper we summarize the project status and present
the science prospects of the CTA observatory.
