Bologna, Sebastiano Ricci's altarpiece returns to the Baroque jewel of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini

From Sept. 24, 2022 to May 29, 2023, the Banca di Bologna, the Department of Cultural Heritage of the Alma Mater Studiorum and the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bolognawill open the doors of a precious jewel of the city’s Baroque: theOratory of San Giovanni Battista dei Fiorentini, one of the Bank’s representative offices, to celebrate the temporary return of Sebastiano Ricci ’s (Belluno, 1659 - Venice, 1734) masterpiece, the Birth of the Baptist. The opening of the Oratory will take place on the occasion of European Heritage Days. The canvas, made by the Venetian master around 1695, was removed from its original setting following Napoleonic requisitions. Since 1990 it has been exhibited along with other masterpieces of the Italian seventeenth century in the splendid halls of the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna, which generously grants the temporary loan today. Banca di Bologna will exhibit the work, once again placed in its original context, where Ricci originally placed it, by launching a program of free guided tours starting on Saturday, September 24, 2022, and ending on May 29, 2023: on Mondays, Saturdays, and Sundays it will be possible to admire the painting in its original location by booking a tour on the Banca di Bologna website.

The bank is actively committed to art and culture: after the major restoration of the city’s monumental gates, carried out in 2007 with the involvement and participation of numerous exponents of the city’s artistic and cultural life, it continues to actively contribute to projects related to interventions in important public and religious spaces and buildings, such as the Galvani and Minghetti squares and the Basilicas of San Petronio and San Francesco. “We supported in 2004,” recalls Alberto Ferrari, General Manager of Banca di Bologna, “the renovation of the Oratorio dei Fiorentini to recover the conservation of the architectural and pictorial asset, in order to make it a prestigious and functional place of work and at the same time giving back to the city a place rich in history and art. Today, thanks to the collaboration with the National Picture Gallery and the University of Bologna, we have temporarily returned Sebastiano Ricci’s work to its original context in the Oratory, an event that represents an exceptional opportunity to open a space for private use to the citizens.”

The return of Sebastiano Ricci’s Birth of the Baptist altarpiece to the Oratory is thus a new stage in this endeavor. The project is curated by Mirella Cavalli of the Pinacoteca Nazionale and Luca Ciancabilla of the University of Bologna, and comes a little more than a decade after the fundamental recovery to the studies and enjoyment of art lovers of the architectural environments and pictorial decorations of the Oratory of San Giovanni Battista dei Fiorentini, among the noblest of the seventeenth-century Felsine panorama.

The painting depicting the Birth of the Baptist was commissioned from the Bellunese painter of the Confraternita dei Fiorentini, who as early as 1682, during his first stay in Bologna, had entrusted the artist with the execution of the altarpiece for the Oratory’s only altar, which no longer exists today. It was a Beheading of the Baptist, unfortunately lost. Like the Birth of the Baptist, the Beheading was removed from its original context in 1798 as a result of Napoleonic requisitions. Starting Sept. 24, it will be possible to admire, for a few months, the Birth of the Baptist on the wall for which it was intended, surrounded by the magnificent frescoes on the vault, which were painted in the mid-17th century by Domenico Baroni and Mauro Aldrovandini, and those on the side walls, executed in the late 17th century by Giuseppe Rolli and Paolo Guidi.

“A set of unique spectacularity,” the curators emphasize, “an aesthetic pleasure for the eyes, mind and reflections of every visitor that we hope will be stimulated by the beauty and richness of the themes represented. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the citizenry and all art lovers. The Oratory is an extraordinary Baroque symphony, refined and brilliant, unique in the local artistic heritage. The project’s own purpose is the critical reinterpretation of this magnificent corner of the Corte de’ Galluzzi in light of the temporary relocation of the altarpiece, an event that we think can initiate an experimental approach and give new impetus to studies. The visitor will be accompanied within the environment by the necessary explanatory apparatus, aimed at the timely disclosure of the critical and historical reasons pursued by the new arrangement, as well as the proper enjoyment of the place. The operation will be accompanied by the publication of a historical-critical catalog, published by Minerva Edizioni, which, in addition to our essays, will host that of another Alma Mater professor, Professor Elisabetta Marchetti, historian of Christianity.”

TheOratory of San Giovanni Battista dei Fiorentini, a jewel of the Baroque age that few people know about, is located in Corte de’ Galluzzi, in the heart of Bologna, on the upper floor of the ancient Church of Santa Maria, known as the “Rotonda dei Galluzzi,” which the family of the same name had built at the foot of the 13th-century tower. After it was abandoned, the church was used by the Compagnia di San Giovanni Battista dei Fiorentini, a congregation of velvet weavers devoted to prayer and penance, who restored it and built the Oratory. A first restoration of the building took place after a hundred years by architect Antonio Uri, and painters Domenico Baroni and Mauro Aldrovandini took care of the vault dedicated to St. John the Baptist of the Florentines; later, other artists were involved in the creation of works and decorations, including Giovanni Negri, Paolo Guidi, and Giuseppe Rolli. In 1798 the Compagnia dei Fiorentini was suppressed, the Oratory was put to secular uses while the Church was used as a commercial establishment. In 2004, the Oratorio dei Fiorentini was renovated by Banca di Bologna with the intention of transforming it into a prestigious and functional place of business, returning an architectural asset of luster to the city. The renovation, by architect Glauco Gresleri, was primarily aimed at preserving the cultural asset. The wall frescoes and the great vault were subjected to cleaning and light restoration work, according to strictly scientific criteria and under the control of the institutions. Thanks to the restoration work, the complex “dei Fiorentini” is now able to open to the city, combining the charm of historical antiquity with maximum safety and environmental comfort. The Oratory is equipped with the most modern and sophisticated technology and is now used to host meetings, business meetings, conferences and events.

Bologna, Sebastiano Ricci's altarpiece returns to the Baroque jewel of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.