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New Sacristy restoration completed at the Medici Chapels
Bio-cleaning methods used for the first time
Editorial Staff
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Colourimetric survey on the Aurora statue of the Lorenzo, Duke of Urbino funerary monument. Photo courtesy of CNR
The tombs and wall coverings have undergone a conservative restoration by an all-female team led by the former director of the Medici Chapels Museum, Monica Bietti, including researchers from the National Institute of Cultural Heritage Sciences and the National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development.
Knowledge has now been gained about the original colour of the sculptures and walls in the New Sacristy as well as about the techniques that Michelangelo adopted to create the statuary. An innovative bio-cleaning method was used for the first time on the sarcophagi and parts of the funerary monuments of Giuliano, Duke of Nemours, and Lorenzo, Duke of Urbino.
Last fall, with the Medici Chapel in Florence operating on reduced hours because of Covid-19, scientists and restorers completed a secret experiment: They unleashed grime-eating bacteria on the artist’s masterpiece marbles.