Sistine Chapel’s New Air Conditioning And Air Purification System Donated By Carrier

The number of visitors to the Sistine Chapel is likely to be reduced if the new air conditioning and purification system does not significantly reduce the amount of pollution in the building. This is a warning from the head of the Vatican Museums. Such a situation will greatly affect tourism in the small city, as a great number of people visit the city each year.

It is estimated that over 20,000 people enter the Sistine Chapel every day during the high seasons. Therefore, it is likely that over 5.5 million people will visit the Vatican Museums this year. With an increase in the number of people visiting the place, the amount of humidity and dirt also significantly increases in the tiny chapel each day increasing the levels of pollution.

It is because of this that the Vatican officials have decided to improve the air conditioning and air purification systems to curb the pollution. Sistine Chapel’s new air conditioning and air purification system is expected to be up and running by the end of 2014. The new system is expected to reduce the dust, carbon dioxide and humidity in the chapel, thus making the place safe for both the visitors and the artifacts.

The pollutants destroy the historic artifacts found in the chapel as they cause discoloring and dulling of Michelangelo’s frescoed masterpiece. The air conditioning system donated by Carrier is expected to stabilize the pollution levels in the chapel. This will be to reduce the levels to a maximum of about 800 particles per million. This will really stabilize the air as at times; the level of pollution in the building is usually more than twice that.

The major reason why officials have decided to go for the air purification systems to reduce pollution levels is that they do not want to see any major renovations being done on the Sistine Chapel. This is because major restorations negatively affect the artwork in the chapel. The last renovation done in the chapel is said to have brightened Michelangelo’s delicate frescoes, of which if Michelangelo was still alive, he would have had a problem with having his artwork brighter than he intended.

Therefore, the chapel will not need any restorations but constant maintenance. If this is not done, the Vatican officials said they would be forced to reduce the number of people visiting the chapel, however, if the project works, there will be no need to impose a limit in the number of visitors coming to see the beautiful artwork and paintings in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican City.