The gallery of old maps in the Vatican has been restored

VATICAN. In those days when pontiffs rarely left Rome, Pope Gregory XIII ordered giant maps depicting the whole of Italy so that the head of the Catholic Church could explore the peninsula without leaving a safe city. By 1582, a team of the best artists on the walls of a large gallery painted and illustrated with great care 40 maps, most of which were 15 by 16 feet. In their original form, the paintings had what we call 3D effects, depicting the sights of cities, mountain valleys and white crests of ocean waves.

But time did not spare the gallery in the Vatican - the world’s largest collection of drawn maps (the length of the gallery is equal to the length of a football field). Over the years, dirt and moisture have destroyed murals. The incorrect restoration of the maps in the 19th century, during which they were covered with glue, which formed a yellow patina, also made a significant contribution. In recent years, most visitors to the Vatican Museums have simply ignored maps, rushing to get to the Sistine Chapel, located at the far end of the gallery.

Now, tourists have a great reason to slow down their run and, on the way to the magnificent frescoes by michelangelo , enjoy all the beauty of unusual vintage cards. For four years, a team of more than a dozen experts managed to return the gallery to a close to its original form. Presentation of updated maps took place last weekend.

Pope Gregory entrusted the realization of his idea in the 16th century to the monk and geographer Ignazio Danti, who, in turn, hired several famous artists, including Girolamo Muziano, Cesare Nebbia, the Flemish brothers Matthews and Pavel Bril. Brill was especially known in those days as a good landscape painter.

“There were no errors in the maps,” said Maria Ludmila Pustka, director of restoration at the Vatican Museum, “at least for that time, for the knowledge that Italian geography possessed at that time. Danti did an excellent job. ”

A few decades after its creation, voluminous inserts on the cards began to "slide" down. Pope Urban VIII in 1630 restored some details that suffered especially severely. In addition, Papa Urban, a descendant of the Barberini family, whose symbol is a bee, populated papal territories on maps with many bees. The bee was even above the golden dragon, a symbol of the genus of Pope Gregory XIII, and, by the way, is still there.

In 2011, the Vatican decided to restore vintage cards and turned to the patrons of the Vatican Museum, which included, Catholics, art lovers. Among other projects, a group of philanthropists finances the restoration of the Sistine Chapel and the Paolina Chapel, which is the Pope’s personal chapel and is decorated with frescoes by Michelangelo.

The Board of Trustees of more than 300 people agreed to finance a project worth $ 2.3 million. This was an obvious choice, especially for those of Italian descent. Many ancient Italian dynasties occupy their special places on old maps. For example, one family paid for the restoration of the Umbrian map, because St. Francis of Assisi was born in this region. In total, we managed to raise more than was necessary.

During the restoration, the plaster was impregnated with a special organic glue, which made the ancient murals more durable. Then, each of the 40 cards was divided into approximately 64 sections, the size of a sheet of writing paper. Using special tools, glue of the 19th century was removed, and in order to restore the frescoes to their former brightness, they were impregnated with a special composition of seaweed. In addition, restorers added missing details of the picture. During the restoration work, experts used original techniques of medieval artists, ancient recipes of Roman plaster and completely natural pigments.

Visitors to the restored gallery can even see the names of the streets in Bologna that still exist after 500 years, or the arcades in Piazza San Marco in Venice. “Some Italians linger on maps for a long time, looking for references to their ancestors,” said Romina Cometti, project manager for the restoration.

Among other historical details, the restored frescoes depict in detail the naval battle of Lepanto, in which the Catholic states defeated the Ottoman fleet in 1571, Julius Caesar crossing the Rubicon River, Hannibal with his elephants, ready to fight the Roman legions, as well as Pope Leo I, who persuaded Attila not to destroy the eternal city.

“The pictures are so precise in the details,” added Maria Ludmila Pustka, “that I urge Google Maps to be just as accurate.”

Anna Sidorova © Gallerix.ru