Visitors to Sistine Chapel to be Vaccuum-Cleaned Prior to Entering, says Vatican Museums

December 23rd, 2012

The Vatican Museum has announced that tourists who visit the Sistine Chapel must be suction-cleaned and chilled before entering. The five million tourists who visit the Sistine Chapel yearly are causing Michelangelo’s frescoes to degrade via the introduction of sweat, dust, skin flakes and hair, in addition to high temperatures from 20,000 tourists daily. “We will cover the 100 meters before the entrance with a carpet that cleans shoes; we will install suction vents on the sides to suck dust from clothes and we will lower temperatures to reduce the heat and humidity of bodies,” said the director of the Museums, “Dust, temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide are the great enemies of the paintings.”
Read the article via The Guardian