Faenza, start of restoration of six paintings, among oldest evidence from Faenza churches

Long-term restoration has begun in Faenza on six late 15th- and early 16th-century panel paintings housed at the Pinacoteca comunale di Faenza, the oldest museum institution in Romagna, established in 1796, with a heritage of works of art ranging from the 14th to the 20th century. The restoration was presented this morning at the Faenza Municipal Art Gallery by Emilia-Romagna Region Culture and Landscape Councillor Mauro Felicori, together with Faenza Mayor Massimo Isola.

The important restoration, conservation and enhancement of the cultural heritage financed by the Emilia-Romagna Region and carried out through three separate agreements with the municipalities of Faenza (Ravenna), Ferrara and Parma for a total amount of 170,000 euros continues.

“By planning and financing these interventions, we are making a significant contribution to the conservation of our cultural heritage,” Felicori explained. “The works restored in Faenza are some of the oldest testimonies from the churches of Faenza and date back to the fruitful season in which every city in Romagna was home to workshops of painters and decorators whose works made a significant contribution to the identity of these territories.”

“We thank the Emilia-Romagna Region and Councillor Mauro Felicori who have always been close to the artistic and cultural projects of our city,” added Faenza Mayor Massimo Isola. “This contribution will allow us to intervene on the heritage of the Municipal Art Gallery of Faenza to carry out, in the best possible way, the work of conservation of the works, often centuries old, that are part of the corpus of our museum. These resources will then allow us to secure them, thus fulfilling in the best possible way the main function that characterizes our Pinacoteca: caring for and preserving the memory that, century after century and generation after generation, we transfer to strengthen and update our identity and our being a community.”

The presentation was attended by Cristina Ambrosini, head of the Cultural Heritage Sector of the Region, Benedetta Diamanti, director of Museums and Cultural Activities of the Municipality of Faenza, Federica Gonzato, superintendent of Archaeology Fine Arts Landscape for the provinces of Ravenna, Forlì-Cesena, Rimini, Luisa Tori, official and art historian of the Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti Paesaggio for the provinces of Ravenna, Forlì-Cesena, and Rimini, and restorers Maria Letizia Antoniacci, Isabella Cervetti, and Sandro Salemme.

The restorations involve the Madonna and Child, St. John the Evangelist and Blessed Filippo Bert oni by the Master of the Bertoni Altarpiece; the Christ Carrying the Cross by Marco Palmezzano; the Madonna and Child Enthroned between Saints Bernardine of Siena, John the Baptist, Celestine Pope and Anthony of Padua (Altarpiece of the Celestines); and the Madonna and Child, St. John and Angels, Saints Hippolytus and Benedict, Saints Lawrence and Romuald, and the Eternal Father among Angels (Camaldolese polyptych) by Giovan Battista Bertucci the Elder; the Madonna and Child with Saints John the Baptist, Benedict, Romuald, John the Evangelist, Jerome and a Holy Bishop by Biagio d’Antonio; the Mystical Marriage of Saint Catherine of Alexandria with Saint Joseph by Luca Longhi.

After restoration, the Bertoni altarpiece will go on loan to the exhibition Renaissance in Ferrara. Ercole de’ Roberti and Lorenzo Costa, soon to open in the Este city.

The restorations, entrusted to firms of qualified experience and broad expertise, with particular reference to the period, were assigned to the Isabella Cervetti Restauri laboratory of Bastia (Ravenna), the Salemme Restauri laboratory of Imola (Bologna), and Maria Letizia Antoniacci of Faenza.

The conservation plan, carried out in agreement with the Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio of Ravenna, started with a massive disinfestation intervention made necessary by episodes of infection by xylophagous insects: the objective is to ensure the paintings on panel, and in general the wooden apparatuses of frames and cornices, prophylaxis preparatory to the conservation intervention.

The Municipality of Faenza, with the Department of Culture and the Pinacoteca, has initiated a process of redevelopment of the art collections acquired in the Napoleonic era, with a wide-ranging reflection on the vocation of the art heritage that the city preserves and on the intended use of the former site of the Jesuit College, currently shared between the Municipal Pinacoteca and the Liceo Torricelli. The project was strongly supported by the Emilia-Romagna Region, and is part of a larger project with a strategy of continuous and systematic maintenance to be extended to the entire Pinacoteca heritage.

Image: Marco Palmezzano, Christ Carrying the Cross (third decade 16th century; tempera grassa on panel, 62.5 x 65.5 cm; Faenza, Pinacoteca comunale)

Faenza, start of restoration of six paintings, among oldest evidence from Faenza churches

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