The creations of such famous artists as Caravaggio, Titian and Rubens are at risk due to the heat that has enveloped the Eternal City.
Employees of the Galleria Borghese Gallery, which is located in Rome, are seriously worried about the safety of valuable exhibits. The administration of the gallery decided to periodically open the windows in order to reduce the level of humidity that the building is saturated with due to high temperatures. Experts say that such unfavorable conditions for storing paintings can soon affect the masterpieces of world art located in Borghese. We are talking about the canvases of such legendary artists as Caravaggio (Caravaggio), Titian (Tizian), Raphael (Raphael) and Rubens (Rubens). It so happened that in the section where they were exhibited, more than two months ago, the air conditioner broke down, ensuring the proper temperature in the room.
“We are always ready, for the past two months,” says the director of the museum, Anna Coliva, explaining that the air conditioner was broken due to too frequent operation, and officials simply did not care about requests for new equipment. “We open windows only to preserve works. In principle, we did this before until 1997. Then the air conditioner was purchased. Two years ago, it was repaired after a serious breakdown, but now it is again broken. Therefore, we have no choice but to open the windows to ensure the optimum temperature. ”
Elisabetta Giani, an art care professional, says the gallery’s administration’s decision is temporary. “We should try to avoid opening windows. The air contains a mass of chemical and biological pollutants, the level of which we cannot control. We need constant monitoring of the humidity level in the room. And, of course, it is better to ensure this from the inside, and not from the outside. Humidity of 50-55 percent can extremely negatively affect the pictures, leading to damage. It is no coincidence that the Uffizi Gallery in Florence closed some rooms in December 2012: the temperature was above normal. ”
The Borghese Gallery was built in the 17th century by order of Cardinal Scipione Borghese, who planned to keep his art collection there. One of the most famous masterpieces on display here is Caravaggio's Young Man with a Basket of Fruits, Tiziano's Heavenly Love and Earthly Love, as well as sculptures by Bernini and Canova.
Daniela Porro, managing museums in Rome, suggested that things could get worse. “So far this problem has touched only one part of the museum, experts have studied it, and tomorrow they will take measures to eliminate it,” she promised. The problems faced by the Borghese Gallery appeared after a series of collapses in the city-monument of Pompeii. On Sunday, the Italian government announced the allocation of 5 million euros for the restoration of the destroyed sections of the 18th century palace near Naples after a large section of the roof collapsed there.
