Sweat and breath damaging Sistine Chapel's frescoes
Sweat, dust and the breath of the 4.5 million tourists who tramp through the Sistine Chapel each year are damaging its priceless Renaissance frescoes, the head of the Vatican Museums has warned.
Art custodians expressed alarm over the state of the exquisite paintings which adorn the chapel, in the heart of the Vatican city state, following the first cleaning operation for four years.
The Sistine Chapel is subjected to an influx of between 15,000 and 20,000 visitors a day, with each tourist responsible for adding to the invisible cloud of dirt, dandruff and other microscopic debris that floats up into the uppermost reaches of the famed church.
Climate control systems which regulate the temperature and humidity inside the chapel are up to 20 years old and in urgent need of replacement.
The guardians of the world famous site say that it has become a victim of its own success — it is the climax to tours of the adjoining Vatican Museums and some tourists sprint ahead of the crowds to experience its grandeur in relative solitude....
Read entire article at Telegraph (UK)
Art custodians expressed alarm over the state of the exquisite paintings which adorn the chapel, in the heart of the Vatican city state, following the first cleaning operation for four years.
The Sistine Chapel is subjected to an influx of between 15,000 and 20,000 visitors a day, with each tourist responsible for adding to the invisible cloud of dirt, dandruff and other microscopic debris that floats up into the uppermost reaches of the famed church.
Climate control systems which regulate the temperature and humidity inside the chapel are up to 20 years old and in urgent need of replacement.
The guardians of the world famous site say that it has become a victim of its own success — it is the climax to tours of the adjoining Vatican Museums and some tourists sprint ahead of the crowds to experience its grandeur in relative solitude....