Ab initio quantum chemical methods based on multiconfigurational second order perturbation theory have been employed to compute the electronic excitation spectrum of cytosine in the gas phase. The computed vertical pi --> pi* transition energies for the four lowest singlet excited valence states are 4.4, 5.4, 6.2, and 6.7 eV, in agreement with experiment (measured energies are 4.6-4.7, 5.2-5.8, 6.1-6.4, and 6.7-7.1 eV, respectively). It is also suggested that the lowest n --> pi* transition should be seen at energies close to 5.0 eV. The computed polarization directions for the three lowest pi --> pi* transitions are approximately 60 degrees, -5 degrees, and -40 degrees and assign a large value for the first angle. This is in contradiction to experiment, which gives a small angle. The crystal field effects on the angles can, however, be expected to be large.