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Vatican's Museums to Limit Number of Visitors as of May

The deserted entrance of the closed Vatican Museums during a lockdown aimed at stopping the spread of COVID-19, March 24, 2020, Vatican City (AFP Photo)
The deserted entrance of the closed Vatican Museums during a lockdown aimed at stopping the spread of COVID-19, March 24, 2020, Vatican City (AFP Photo)
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Vatican's Museums to Limit Number of Visitors as of May

The deserted entrance of the closed Vatican Museums during a lockdown aimed at stopping the spread of COVID-19, March 24, 2020, Vatican City (AFP Photo)
The deserted entrance of the closed Vatican Museums during a lockdown aimed at stopping the spread of COVID-19, March 24, 2020, Vatican City (AFP Photo)

The Vatican Museums and Gardens will be reopening to visitors on May 3 following a temporary opening, museum organizers have announced. While visitors will have a chance to see the fine craftsmanship on the ceiling of the renowned Sistine Chapel, Italy's tourism remains hobbled by the coronavirus pandemic.

Currently, there are hardly any tourists in Rome because of the travel restrictions in Italy.

In pre-pandemic times, a visit to the Vatican Museums often meant queues, overcrowding and guards telling you to move along.

Announcing the plans on March 8, the museums' organizers in the Vatican City said that for public health reasons, visits will still need to be booked in advance on the museums' website.

In addition, only a limited number of guests will be admitted. The opening date is also provisional and will ultimately depend on COVID-19 infection rates at the time.

Recently, the infection curve in Italy had dropped slightly, but the figures are still generally higher than in other parts of Europe.

The museums in the Vatican had been closed again after a temporary opening after the third wave in March. Their visitor numbers have risen steadily in recent years, to 6.7 million in 2019. Ticket sales are an important source of revenue for the Vatican City State.

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Biscuit Portraits of Famous British People

Mosaic artist Ed Chapman has depicted famous British people in biscuit form to mark 100 years of McVitie’s chocolate digestive
Mosaic artist Ed Chapman has depicted famous British people in biscuit form to mark 100 years of McVitie’s chocolate digestive
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Biscuit Portraits of Famous British People

Mosaic artist Ed Chapman has depicted famous British people in biscuit form to mark 100 years of McVitie’s chocolate digestive
Mosaic artist Ed Chapman has depicted famous British people in biscuit form to mark 100 years of McVitie’s chocolate digestive

London-based artist Ed Chapman has created biscuit portraits of famous British people to mark the 100th anniversary of the McVitie’s digestive biscuit range.

The mosaic artist said he had some “trepidation” when McVitie's called and asked him to make some famous portraits out of biscuits.

“I wondered if the portraits could be done with biscuits, I thought surely they're going to be crumbling all over the place,” Chapman said, according to BBC.

“I immediately went out and bought some biscuits to try them out and tested out how it might work - eventually I found my way with them,” he said.

Asked how it was possible to make such vivid portraits out of digestives, he said: “I initially thought they were all quite similar, but actually there's a white chocolate, gold chocolate, dark chocolate and of course the milk chocolate, and if you flip them over, there's the biscuit side which is plain, so there's a few grades of color and tones there - it's a palette.”

He added, “When I started this, I didn't think about the warm weather. Thankfully I've got a north facing studio, but I kept them in the fridge as they were easier to cut.

Chapman explained the current warm spell is a bit of a worry, but said: “I've protected them with several layers of varnish so, I'm not saying they're indestructible, but they should certainly last - they wouldn't last in the direct sun though.”

The artist said it took about 180 hours to make the three portraits and he used “thousands” of biscuits, which were supplied by McVitie's.

Chapman said the work had already been getting good feedback and attention online.

The mosaic artist has also done campaigns for other companies, including Keep Britain Tidy.

The pictures will be displayed on The Strand from 2 to 5 May.