The heat has already become one of the main sources of discontent among visitors. On social media, comments from tourists in various languages are multiplying, complaining about high temperatures in the galleries, made worse by the huge influx of people who travel the unique exhibition route every day...
...According to reports circulating in museum circles, in recent days there was a malfunction of the system in the room dedicated to Henri Matisse, where the original preparatory cartoons for the stained glass windows of the Chapel of the Rosary in Vence are kept. These are particularly delicate works. Matisse made these large cartoons by applying and gluing colored, cut papers onto a base support, a technique that makes the material especially sensitive to temperature changes and, above all, to humidity. Again according to reports, the malfunction caused hot and humid air to enter the room just as Rome was experiencing extreme temperatures outside. Some photos taken by tour guides reportedly show the appearance of slightly darker areas and initial surface deformations on at least one of the cartoons. If confirmed, these circumstances could be compatible with hygrothermal stress on the artwork.

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Balancing Art Preservation and Summer Heat in the Vatican Museums

The heatwave that will hit Rome in the coming days also risks putting pressure on the Vatican Museums. While the Ministry of Health is forecasting red-alert days outside, inside the largest museum complex of the Holy See, the heat has already become one of the main sources of discontent among visitors. On social media, comments from tourists in various languages are multiplying, complaining about high temperatures in the galleries, made worse by the huge influx of people who travel the unique exhibition route every day. The discomfort has a clear explanation. For several months now, the Vatican Museums have been carrying out a major modernization of the air conditioning system, aimed at finally covering both the lower and upper galleries, where cooling has so far been absent or only partial. This is a very complex project that has inevitably, on some days, led to the temporary shutdown or limitation of certain systems, leaving entire areas more exposed than others to the summer heat. To …