Should Vatican Museums Limit Visitors?
The Guardian reports: ‘The Vatican Museums are considering putting a cap on visitor numbers amid fears among tour guides that overcrowding could provoke a stampede unless security policy is changed. The museums, a sprawling structure of 54 galleries containing a vast collection of treasures gathered by pontiffs over the centuries, draw in more than 6 million people a year. But unlike other major Rome landmarks, such as the Colosseum, they currently have no daily limit on visitors. Tour guides claimed that at least 10 visitors fainted each day as slow-moving crowds filed through the long and narrow corridor that leads to the most popular attraction, the Sistine Chapel, while others have suffered injuries and panic attacks. One visitor was saved by a guard after having a heart attack in February.’
