Leonardo da Vinci's fragile self-portrait will be monitored around the clock when it goes on rare display to the public Tuesday at the Capitoline Museums from Tuesday, curators said.
The Rome Superintendent for cultural heritage, Claudio Parisi Presicce, underlined that the exhibit taking place until Aug.3 is the result of an "exceptional loan" by the Royal Library of Turin that is unlikely to be repeated, given the difficulty in transporting the masterpiece. The self-portrait was sent to Rome aboard a Frecciarossa high-speed train under extraordinary security.
Giovanni Saccani, head of the Royal Library, said "normally when it is in the vault of the royal library of Turin it is not visible to the public, it is conserved jealously, there are other exhibits but only occasionally".
"The period of rest between one exhibit and another could be as long as five years." "Allow it to leave Turin again? Over my dead body".
During the exhibit the room where the Leonardo will be shown will be monitored by a climate box that maintains a stable temperature and humidity, said Saccani, adding that monitors in the room will send information to the royal library constantly about its condition.
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