Cheese al Fresco!

Parmesan cheese mixed with lime, spread over canvas, was used to waterproof the back of the frescoes of the Church of Santa Maria de Mur, of Catlonia, Spain, recently transferred to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

The frescoes, which are 800 years old, are the work of an unknown artist. The central oval seems to be an inspiration from Revelations, IV: "After this I looked . . . and behold a throne was set in heaven and One sat on the throne. And He that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald." The rest of the painting treats of the Apostles and the Nativity. After the casts over the fresco were removed, the cheese was scraped off by hand.