Further Centuries of Artistic Splendor

The restoration of Raphael’s Loggia, the launch of the preliminary study program for the Sala dei Chiaroscuri, and, in the seventeenth-century sphere, a project to restore the entire Scala Regia—the monumental entrance to the Apostolic Palaces designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

These are some of the initiatives announced in this interview with Paolo Violini, who, as of August 1, is at the helm of Italy’s oldest most renowned restoration workshop: the Restoration Laboratory for Paintings and Wooden Material at the Vatican Museums. [www.vaticanstate.va](http://www.vaticanstate.va)

Splendor conserved for centuries to come

Rediscovering Michelangelo’s fresco in all its expressive power is an extraordinary experience—one that stays with you for a lifetime. Paolo Violini, the Vatican’s Chief Restorer of the Paintings and Wooden Materials Restoration Laboratory, recounts his work in the Sistine Chapel on the occasion of the extraordinary maintenance of Michelangelo Buonarroti’s  monumental fresco the “Last Judgment”.