Madrid, installed ultrasound to keep pigeons away from Raphael tapestries

At the Palacio Real in Madrid, the Patrimonio Nacional ’s tribute exhibition to Raphael Sanzio on the occasion of the five-hundredth anniversary of his death in 2020 has been extended until July 4, 2021: the complete series of the apostolic cycle from the collection of tapestries made on cartoons by the Urbino artist that belonged to Philip II has been exhibited to the Spanish public for the first time.

Pope Leo X commissioned Raphael in 1514 to make cartoons for the ten tapestries that were to cover the lower part of the Sistine Chapel during solemn ceremonies. The European monarchies were fascinated by these masterpieces, so much so that they wanted faithful reproductions of them to hang in their residences, and Patrimonio Nacional in particular preserves no less than two reproductions of the cycle based on Raphael’s original cartoons: one that belonged to Philip III and the other, older one that belonged to Philip II, which is currently on display at Palacio Real.

However, it seems that for the past two months the king’s tapestries have been in danger from pigeons entering the gallery where the exhibition is being held: the problem has arisen because of the need to ventilate this part of the palace that overlooks the park. A report in the Spanish daily ABC Cultura publicized the risk caused by pigeons roaming the Gallery and alighting on the tapestries, but Patrimonio Nacional, the Spanish national heritage agency responsible for the tapestries and the exhibition, said that no tapestries would be damaged. It added that ultrasonic devices have been installed with the aim of keeping pigeons away from the tapestries, as well as providing for controlled opening of the windows to allow proper ventilation and at the same time ensure the safety of the woven masterpieces.

Ph. Credit Emilio Naranjo

Madrid, installed ultrasound to keep pigeons away from Raphael tapestries

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