An Acoustic Reconstruction of Sistine Chapel in Rome at the Time of Leo X: The Role of Tapestries

The Sistine Chapel, originally designed to accommodate papal ceremonies, featured a system for hanging tapestries that ensured they were deployed according to the liturgical calendar. These textiles not only served as temporary decorative elements but also contributed to the acoustical environment. Historical records suggest that Renaissance popes, particularly Leo X, were attuned to the impact of textiles on sound, experimenting with their placement to optimize acoustics for sermons and polyphonic music. Given the lack of direct historical acoustical measurements, this study employs a computational simulation approach to model the chapel’s acoustics with and without the presence of tapestries and human occupancy. A crucial first step involved characterizing the absorption coefficients of surface finishings in order to obtain a reliable model of the space and investigate modifications induced by tapestries. The study revealed that the presence of tapestries reduced reverberation time at mid-frequencies from 7.4 s to 5.1 s in the empty chapel and from 4.1 s to 3.4 s when occupied. The results corroborate historical observations, who noted the effects of tapestries on vocal clarity in papal ceremonies. The findings demonstrate that textiles played a significant role in controlling acoustics within the Sistine Chapel, complementing the liturgical experience.