Michelangelo's work restored with 'bacteria'

The noun bacteria often conjures up negative feelings. But in reality, not all bacteria are like that. In a positive development, Italian scientists have successfully researched the use of bacteria to restore the lifetime work of master sculptor Michelangelo.

On the 545th anniversary of the birth of Renaissance sculptor Michelangelo, Italian scientists have attempted to restore the Medici family mausoleum in the church of San Lorenzo in Florence, one of his lifelong works. , to introduce to the public.

According to the history of the artistic city of Florence, Michelangelo was commissioned to sculpt the tomb of Alessandro Medici, the once powerful ruler of Florence in 1520. And Michelangelo created the marble work with the figure. of members of the Medici family and symbolic images for sunset, dawn, night and day.

Michelangelo's Medici family mausoleum sculpture.

However, the coffin containing the body of Alessandro Medici regularly exudes organic matter and clings to the works. Therefore, in order to clean the layer of dirt accumulated over the centuries on Michelangelo's works, experts have researched a new approach to solve this problem, microbial intervention.

A gel containing three strains of bacteria: Serratia ficaria SH7, Pseudomonas stutzeri CONC11 and Rhodococcus sp. ZONTs are applied to the marble statues and they will help to thoroughly clean the adherent dirt.

The restoration team's leader, Monica Bietti, former director of the Medici chapel museum, said it took the team eight years to research. Selecting the strain of bacteria is an important task, ensuring that they clean only any dirt without damaging or degrading the marble.

Monica Bietti also revealed that Serratia ficaria SH7 is the type that causes urinary tract infections in humans. Before applying this gel to Michelangelo's work, the team of experts had to test 11 different strains of bacteria.

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (1475 - 1564), commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer. His erudition in the fields reached exceptional levels, making him worthy of the title of Renaissance figure, along with Leonarda da Vinci, Raphael or Titian.