Sistine Chapel Mural Restoration Tackles Layers of Sweaty Residue

"As part of a landmark restoration of his epic Last Judgement, specialists have been scrubbing away layers of dried sweat from the many tourists who fill the sacred space each summer. Vatican Museums director Barbara Jatta described this salty white accretion as a "cataract," and its removal should return the Last Judgement back to its original colorful brilliance."

"Some 25,000 tourists pass through the chapel each day and, as their sweat evaporates, it rises and condenses. Unfortunately, lactic acid in the sweat reacts with calcium carbonate on the walls and ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. With tourism reaching record highs and the city heating up due to climate change, this process has only been accelerated in recent years."

"Curator Fabrizio Biferali told the London Times that the wall containing the Last Judgement, which sits behind the chapel's altar, is particularly susceptible. This is because it is colder than the others, he said, "hence more condensation.""

The Sistine Chapel's Last Judgement fresco by Michelangelo faces restoration from accumulated sweat residue left by approximately 25,000 daily tourists. As visitors' sweat evaporates in the chapel, it condenses on the ceiling and walls, where lactic acid reacts with calcium carbonate to form a white film that obscures the artwork's original details. This process has accelerated due to record tourism and climate change warming. The white deposit, described as a "cataract" by Vatican Museums director Barbara Jatta, is particularly concentrated on the colder wall behind the altar. Conservators remove the buildup using Japanese rice paper, with humidity controls and visitor capacity limits implemented to prevent future accumulation.

Read at Artnet News