VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Being a tour guide at the Vatican Museums is a little bit like going to hell.
Livia Galante, an experienced archaeologist and tour guide, described it as a bit like a scene from Dante’s Inferno — filled with masses of people jammed together.
Galante, who is experienced at navigating the intricate corridors of the Vatican collection, has nearly fainted and had panic attacks twice during her tours.
The museums normally host over 6 million visitors a year and on some days up to 45,000 tourists fill its galleries.
Galante recently scrolled through a dozen pictures of overcrowded halls at the Vatican Museums on her phone. The images show people packed together in the majestic halls, with only disembodied limbs sticking out from the crowd, occasionally holding out phones or umbrellas.
“Hell,” she called it.
During the coronavirus pandemic, things have changed. The museums shut down for three months and only reopened June 1.
Today, the halls are largely emptied.
Visitors can stop and take in the beauty of the recently restored Raphael Rooms and the jaw-dropping ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
“We are reclaiming ownership of space,” Galante said.
Tourists now can enjoy the museums as they were originally intended, with pause and contemplation, she said.
Before COVID-19, guides and tourists clamored for a less crowded, more enjoyable…
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