Spain’s Culture Ministry reopens the Altamira caves

Known as the Sistine Chapel of Prehistoric Art, Spain’s famous Altamira caves are to be opened to the public again, eight years after they were closed to protect the paintings of deer, bison and bulls from damage.

The paintings had such an effect on Pablo Picasso when he visited them that he is reported to have exclaimed, “After Altamira all is decadence.”

Since their discovery in 1879 the caves, located in the Cantabria region of northern Spain, have been subject to many preservation efforts. They were first closed in 1977, after it was reported that carbon dioxide from the breath of the millions of visitors could cause extensive damage, and opened again in 1982 following the implementation of strict controls over the number of visitors allowed.

The list became so long that many visitors were told that they would have to endure a three-year wait, particularly after UNESCO declared the caves a World Heritage site in 1985.

In 2002 the caves were finally closed for the last time, after experts detected green mould growing on the paintings in the main chamber. It was decided that such was the fragility of the paint that their preservation was more important than making them available to the general public.

Yet now, against the advice of Spain’s CSIC (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas or Spanish National Research Council) who continue to warn against the dangers of increased CO2 levels, the caves are again to be opened to the public.

Angeles Gonzalez-Sinde, Spain’s Minister of Culture, announced that the caves would reopen on a restricted basis from the end of the year, despite the warnings of CSIC spokesman, Sergio Sanchez Moral, who stated, “We have made it very clear that [the caves] should not be reopened at this time. The caves have recovered from the damage, but to open them again is not a good idea. The risks are immeasurable.”

Gonzales-Sinde revealed that the Ministry of Culture hoped that US President Barack Obama would be the first to visit the reopened chambers and that a letter of invitation has already been written to him.

New post on at Monday, 12 July, 2010, 4:04 pm and is archived in Art, Culture, Lifestyle, Places of Interest. Subscribe to answers with RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.