Sistine Chapel: The Last Judgement will be under maintenance in 2026

In 2026, Michelangelo's Last Judgement underwent an extraordinary conservation process, immediately following the restoration of Raphael's Loggia. Paolo Violini, the newly appointed director of the Vatican Museums' Paintings and Woodwork Restoration Laboratory, is preparing to follow in the footsteps of some of the greatest names in art history.

Taking over at the beginning of August from Francesca Persegati, who has been at the helm of the institution founded a century ago by Biagio Biagetti since 2017, Violini is anticipating the first challenges that await him in the Vatican media. The activities of the laboratory will be open to the public from January 2026. Major maintenance work on Michelangelo's Last Judgement will begin at the beginning of the year.

This will involve more than the annual maintenance that is usually carried out using a mechanical "spider" or lift. The need for the work has arisen because the high number of visitors has begun to affect the conservation of what is considered the world's most famous fresco. "We should have it done by March so that the wall is clear for Holy Week, "," Violini told Vatican Media.

During three months of work, "scaffolding will be erected around the entire wall". This scaffolding will have several working platforms with a hoist, allowing between 10 and 12 people to be in very close contact with the artwork, minimising disruption to the public and speeding up the process.