The Vatican Museums, archives and library are preparing to reopen

The Vatican Museums, the Vatican Apostolic Archive and the Vatican Library will reopen on June 1, almost three months after being closed as part of the blockade to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The closure of the museums has dealt a severe financial blow to the Vatican; over 6 million people visit museums every year, generating an income of over $ 100 million.

The closure of the archives has interrupted the long-awaited access of scholars to the archives of Pope Pius XII. The material relating to the pope and his actions during the Second World War became available to scholars on March 2, but this access ended a week later with the blockade.

To reopen the facilities, the Vatican has instituted a series of precautionary measures in line with health and safety guidelines. Access to museums, archives and the library will only take place upon reservation, masks are required and social distances must be maintained.

A notice on the archives website informed scholars that as it reopens on June 1, it will close again on June 26 for its usual summer break. Only 15 scholars per day will be admitted in June and only in the morning.

The archives will reopen on August 31st. Access will still be by reservation only, but the number of scholars admitted will increase to 25 every day.

Barbara Jatta, director of the Vatican Museums, joined small groups of journalists for the museum tours from 26 to 28 May in anticipation of the reopening.

Reservations will be requested there too, he said, but at least by May 27 there was no sign that the number of visitors would be so large that museums would have to impose a daily limit. Until June 3, travel between Italian regions and from European countries is still prohibited.

Masks will be requested from all visitors and the facility now has a temperature scanner installed at the entrance. The opening hours have been extended to 10 am to 00 pm Monday to Thursday and 20 am to 00 pm Friday and Saturday.

The maximum size of a group tour will be 10 people, "which will mean a much more pleasant experience," said Jatta. "Let's take a look at the bright side."

While the museums were closed to the public, employees were working on projects that normally only have time to take care of Sundays when the museums are closed, Jatta said.

With the reopening, he said, the public will see for the first time the restored Sala di Costantino, the fourth and largest of the Raphael Rooms of the museums. The restoration produced a surprise: evidence that the allegorical figures of Justice (in Latin, "Iustitia") and Friendship ("Comitas") were painted in oil next to the frescoes and probably represent the last work of Raphael before his death in 1520 .

As part of the celebrations on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of Raphael's death, the room dedicated to him in the Pinacoteca dei Musei (image gallery) has also been redesigned with new lighting installed. Raphael's painting on the Transfiguration has been restored, although when journalists visited in late May, it was still wrapped in plastic, waiting for the museums to reopen.