Restoration of Raphael's Loggia in Vatican begins

A five-year restoration of Vatican

UNESCO site Raphael's Loggia began on Wednesday.

"A team of 20 restorers from the Vatican Museums will begin the

restoration of Raphael's Loggia, working with laser technology

on a delicate and exquisitely decorated surface. This is a

complex project and one of the most important ever undertaken in

the Museums, which will keep us busy for five years," said

Barbara Jatta, director of the Vatican Museums, at the

presentation of the major restoration project for the west wing

of the Second Loggia, the so-called Raphael's Loggia.

The initial phase of restoration will focus on the west wing of

the Loggia, located on the second floor of the Apostolic Palace

and overlooking the San Damaso courtyard.

1519 by his students for Pope Leo X de' Medici (1513-1521), it

was immediately considered one of the highest expressions of

Renaissance art applied to architecture and remains one of the

most refined examples of early 16th-century figurative art.

"This is an extraordinary maintenance project and a five-year

restoration to protect the 16th-century stuccoes and frescoes

created by Giovanni da Udine and other collaborators under the

guidance of Raphael, 14 bays of exquisite paintings created

using various techniques, which is why the restoration work will

be so complex."

Also present at the conference were the president of the Stephen

A. Schwarzman Foundation, the philanthropic organization that

funded the restoration project, and Bénédicte de Montlaur,

president of the World Monuments Fund.

"We have participated in many projects in Italy, but this is the

first in the Vatican," commented de Montlaur.

Both expressed great enthusiasm and joy at participating in this

global project, dedicated to Raphael, one of the greatest

artists in history.

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