Vatican City, February 3, 2026 — The Europe Today: The Vatican has launched an extensive three-month cleaning and restoration project for Michelangelo’s monumental fresco The Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel, but announced that the historic chapel will remain open to the public throughout the process.
The project, the first major intervention on the artwork in nearly 30 years, was announced by the Vatican Museums on Monday. Scaffolding has been erected in front of the 180-square-metre fresco, which was painted by Michelangelo between 1536 and 1541 and depicts the final judgment of humanity.
