Vatican reveals air pollution is ‘whitening’ Sistine Chapel’s frescoes

The Sistine Chapel's precious frescoes were turning white from air pollution caused by visitors passing through each day to marvel at Michelangelo's masterpiece, the Vatican has revealed.

Officials first noticed the whitening patina in 2010. The damage wasn't visible from the ground, but close inspection showed pockets of frescoes covered with a powdery patina that caked them like cracked sugar icing.

"The concern was not just aesthetic but also the danger for the integrity of the paintings," said Vittoria Ciminio of the Vatican Museum.

While the exact origin of the problem is still unknown, officials blamed the increasing levels of carbon dioxide and humidity passing through the chapel's porous plaster walls.

The patina was easily removed and no permanent damage occurred, said Ulderico Santamaria, chief of the museums' restoration laboratory.

Vatican officials have said the chapel's new air conditioning and air filtration system, inaugurated this week, will prevent damage from the air pollution brought in by crowds nearing six million this year. But they never revealed that damage was already being done and that the new system was aimed at preventing further problems.