The Vatican Museums have begun an extensive restoration of the Renaissance frescoes in the Raphael Room of the Apostolic Palace. The project, which started on April 15, is expected to take five years and cost €5.5 million, about $6.3 million. According to the Vatican Museums, the early 16th-century frescoes have remained virtually untouched since their creation and are now in urgent need of cleaning and repair.
A team of more than 20 restorers is carrying out the delicate work using laser technology, with completion projected for 2031.The corridor, 64 meters long and 4 meters wide, contains nearly 1,300 square meters of frescoes and stucco designed by Raphael and executed between 1517 and 1519 by his assistants Giulio Romano, Giovanni da Udine, and Perin del Vaga. The decoration includes scenes from the Old Testament, botanical motifs, and grotesque figures.
Raphael, a leading artist and architect of the High Renaissance, was first commissioned by Pope Julius II to decorate the papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace. Pope Leo X later asked him to decorate the loggia on the west wing of the second floor, overlooking the Courtyard of San Damaso. Also known as Raphael’s Loggia, the room was immediately regarded as one of the finest expressions of Renaissance art applied to architecture.
The Vatican Museums called it “one of the most refined examples of the figurative language of the early 16th century.”“It is a passage long traversed by cardinals, high prelates and ambassadors visiting the Pope, admired and copied by the greatest Italian and foreign artists, and an essential stop on the Grand Tour,” said Barbara Jatta, director of the Vatican Museums. She added that the conservation work “will mark a crucial moment in both the history of restoration and the history of Italian Renaissance art.”This is the first major restoration of the frescoes. Funding is provided by the World Monuments Fund and the Stephen A. Schwarzman Foundation.Restoration director Angela Cerreta told the Spanish newspaper ABC in June that the paintings are not in good condition. “It is a very delicate surface and has been exposed to the elements for centuries. For many years, it has been copied for fear that it would be lost,” she said.
The team is “meticulously analyzing the engravings to observe all the phases prior to the losses.”A previous attempt to restore the room in the 1970s using inorganic products did not yield good results. “Since then, a kind of dark legend has arisen about this lodge, suggesting it was best left untouched,” Cerreta said. Between 2019 and 2023, conservators carried out further restoration tests to identify the right technology for the current project.