An elixir of eternal youth may be the stuff of legend and beyond the reach of humans, but it is not such a fantasy in the world of art restoration, thanks to pioneering work being carried out in a project in the Italian city of Florence. <br /><br />With age, paintings deteriorate and their structure becomes fragile. That is caused by degradation of calcium carbonate , a fundamental constituent of many works of art. Scientists at a restoration centre in Florence a restoration centre in Florencetrying to reverse that degradation with nanoparticles of calcium hydroxide.<br /><br />“This painting is severely damaged because of its age, and because it was removed from the wall, with only thin colour layers left, and they’re very faded,” says Fabricio Bandini, a restorer at Opificio. “But with this “nanocalcium” we can now consolidate the fragile parts of the painting.”<br /><br />Scientists from several countries have joined forces in this European research project: a simple chemical reaction produces nano-particles of
