<p>Only six million visitors will be allowed to the Sistine Chapel each year.</p>

Vatican - The Vatican will limit the number of tourists who can visit the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican each year. To protect the rare frescoes by Michelangelo, only six million visitors will be allowed into the chapel annually, Reuters reported today, citing a Vatican official.
    In the summer months, the number of tourists in the chapel, which is used during the election of the pope, can reach up to 20,000 per day, with a maximum of 2,000 inside at any one time. The frescoes are particularly damaged by dust, sweat, and carbon dioxide brought in by visitors. The Sistine Chapel received a new air conditioning system and lighting during the summer, aimed at better protecting the monument. However, this does not mean that significantly more visitors will be allowed into the chapel.
    "I think the Vatican Museums, specifically the Sistine Chapel, have reached the maximum possible number of visitors," said the head of the Vatican Museums, Antonio Paolucci, at a press conference where he presented the new air conditioning and lighting system. "We are not doing this so that more people can access the Sistine Chapel," he added. The new system began construction in June and is expected to be operational by the end of the month.
    Many historians and restorers have called for greater restrictions on the influx of tourists into the chapel in previous years. As Paolucci stated, the current system, where reservations can be made online or through a travel agency, or by waiting in line in front of the chapel, will continue. However, he did not rule out that in the future they might only adopt a reservation system.
    The chapel was started in 1477 at the request of Pope Sixtus IV. In 1506, Pope Julius II invited Michelangelo Buonarroti to decorate the ceiling of the building. This Renaissance artist then spent from 1508 to 1512 working there. The ceiling depicts the Creation of the World and Original Sin, with scenes from the Old and New Testaments surrounding it. The frescoes are of incalculable value.