Smart lighting
at the
Scrovegni Chapel

We have adopted the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, one of the first examples of smart lighting ever to be used in the culture sector. Based on an agreement with the Interdisciplinary Scientific Commission for the Conservation and Management of the Scrovegni Chapel, iGuzzini were tasked with enhancing the chapel’s extraordinary beauty. 

The lighting project, completed in 2017, combines latest generation luminaires with IoT and was specifically designed to enhance the rich colours and remarkable details of Giotto’s masterpiece, while also reducing energy consumption and improving microclimate conditions to facilitate the conservation of the frescoes. This ‘perceptive restoration’ was achieved using Tunable White LEDs and sensors developed by the WiSense start-up that process data regarding natural light variation and then use it to adjust the colour temperature and intensity of the artificial lighting via an algorithm.

“This ambitious project will both benefit the public and honour the town with its record-breaking status. In fact, this is the first time ever that a highly advanced technological system has been applied to a cultural context of this importance in order to allow visitors to better appreciate the unique brilliance of these magnificent, world famous frescoes.”

“The perceptive restoration project for the frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel is a challenge that we have met with great enthusiasm. It is an exceptional example of how we support cultural heritage, in Italy and around the world. Thanks to the most advanced technologies available in the lighting sector, Giotto’s masterpiece can now be appreciated in a way that was not even possible for the artist himself and his contemporaries in the 1300s. In fact, all the beauty and authenticity of these wonderful works of art can now be enjoyed at any time of the day, regardless of the natural light conditions. Thanks to light, we can now give back to the past its original splendour and project it into the future, brighter than ever before. This is the greatest satisfaction for anyone who has always been committed to the research and technological development of light in all its forms and who continues to wholeheartedly promote light as a tool for social innovation.”