[Chad N. Freud]

I’m torn.

It comes down to how much you value a site, or an artifact.

I want tourists to tour Pompeii, and I agree with this attitude: “Yes, tourists will have an impact and it will degrade the site.”

The same applies to the Acropolis, the Tower of London, and Hampton Court.

The sites are NOT there only for the enjoyment of academics, and should not be sealed off.

And yet . . .

I do not want anyone breathing too hard on the Mona Lisa or the Last Supper, or touching many of the sculptures of the masters.

So I am clearly of two minds. The subject clearly has two sides.

[SunkenCiv]

The basic structures are probably safe (until the next time Vesuvius buries everything, which is a much greater risk anyway), but the fresco paintings found in a good many houses will vanish with time, just as the much more fragile Mona Lisa will crumble into dust. It's more important to exhaustively document them before they vanish.

[irishjuggler]

I do not want anyone breathing too hard on the Mona Lisa or the Last Supper,

No worries on either. Have been to both. The former is behind thick glass. For the latter, tourists are relegated to viewing from a sealed chamber.

[wardaddy]

So I am clearly of two minds.

there are meds for that Chad we’ve come a long way since Halperidol

very well done on the nick btw