Cornaro Chapel with the Ecstasy of St. Theresa restored for the first time in its entirety

The complete restoration of one of the most beautiful chapels in art history, the Cornaro Chapel in the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome, has been completed. The chapel houses Gian Lorenzo Bernini’sEcstasy of St. Teresa of Avila, a Baroque masterpiece that the famous artist created between 1645 and 1652.

The restoration was carried out by the Special Superintendence of Rome, which was preceded by an accurate preliminary study. It was an intervention that involved the entire chapel, as explained by Daniela Porro, Special Superintendent of Rome, during which a study and in-depth study of the masterpiece was carried out that revealed details of the process of its creation. It was a complex intervention because of the variety of materials used by Bernini. “The intervention was necessary to resolve some critical issues not addressed during previous restorations,” explains the project’s scientific director, Mariella Nuzzo. “In particular, inside the tabernacle, the stained-glass window radiating the sculptural group with St. Theresa and the Angel was repositioned and the stuccoes of the cupola were restored. It was also a valuable opportunity to check the condition of the complex decoration of the upper register, which led to major consolidation and cleaning work on the sumptuous three-dimensional cloud on which Abbatini depicted the Empyrean, the panels with the stories of the Saint and the angels of the archway.”

The restoration with the cleaning and consolidation work lasted seven months and cost 100 thousand euros; it is the first time the chapel has been restored in its entirety.

“All parts of the chapel were restored. This allows a reinterpretation of Bernini’s harmonious conception, a conception that includes all the arts: architecture, painting, sculpture, scenic representation, artistic lighting. In the chapel there is not only the sculpture of the Ecstasy of St. Theresa, but also the whole of it. It is a real theatrical scene,” commented Daniela Porro.

Pictured is the Cornaro Chapel. Ph.Credit

Cornaro Chapel with the Ecstasy of St. Theresa restored for the first time in its entirety

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