Lentini, fresco of Christ Pantocrator in the rock church of the Crucifix restored

Presented this morning in Lentini (Syracuse) was the recently completed restoration of the precious fresco of Christ Pantocrator among angels in the rock church of the Crucifix, a cave of considerable interest located in the territory of Carlentini, a short walk from the town of Lentini. The intervention on the 13th-century work was carried out thanks to the second exceptional contribution of 10,000 euros made available as part of the ninth edition of I Luoghi del Cuore, the census of Italian places not to be forgotten promoted by FAI - Fondo per l’Ambiente Italiano and Intesa Sanpaolo.

The Church of the Crucifix in Lentini is part of a large and complex apparatus of rock settlements, consisting of mainly artificial caves, used over the centuries as both dwellings and places of worship. The frescoes contained within it, created between the 12th and 17th centuries, despite their rarity and considerable value, were long neglected, and their poor state of preservation prompted citizens to mobilize, starting in 2016, to safeguard the property. In 2016, on the occasion of the eighth edition of I Luoghi del Cuore (Places of the Heart ), the Rupestrian Church of Lentini received 3,831 votes, thanks to the important vote-gathering and awareness-raising activities of the civic initiative group Leontinoi nel Cuore, which brings together citizens and voluntary associations such as Aps Neapolis, Archeoclub Lentini, SiciliAntica Lentini-Carlentini, Pro Loco Lentini and Carlentini, and Lions Club Lentini. This achievement enabled the parish to participate in the call for proposals that FAI launches after each edition of the census, first presenting a project to restore the fresco of the Theory of Saints, which was in serious disrepair, and, after again garnering 11,063 votes at the ninth I Luoghi del Cuore census in 2018, a second project to restore the fresco of Christ Pantocratore among angels. This was accompanied by a plan of communication and actions in the area devised by Aps Neapolis to which co-financing from numerous ETSs in the area was added in 2018. Both projects, evaluated as eligible, were awarded the I Luoghi del Cuore grant, becoming unique in the history of the census. FAI and Intesa Sanpaolo chose to fund the Rupestrian Church of the Crucifix twice because of the great ability shown by the citizens, since the first intervention, to concentrate their forces to enhance this jewel of the territory, in the attempt of an overall recovery of the property. In fact, in recent years the cave has been the subject of further interventions, including the restoration of the Madonna of the Milk, the securing of the paths and other maintenance activities, made possible thanks to funding from the Sicilian Region’s Call for Projects “Work Sites for Parishes.”

The work and the restoration

Christ Pantocrator among angels, the most important fresco in the church, originally dedicated to St. Mary of the Cave, is made inside the apse basin, below which there was originally the altar, oriented to the east according to Byzantine tradition. A pictorial work from the 13th century, it depicts a seated Christ on a throne, in the act of blessing. The word “Pantocrator” derives from the Greek “pantokrator” (panto=all and kràtein=dominate; Pantocrator, therefore, is the one who rules above all things, the ruler of the Universe). The recently completed intervention, supervised by Barbara Di Natale in collaboration with Federica Di Giorgi under the technical-scientific direction of Raffaella D’Amico, was aimed at stopping the ongoing degradation and recovering the work’s legibility, consistent with the conservation interventions carried out previously.

In the fresco, Christ sits on an elegant throne covered with a richly embroidered drape and cushion; he wears a red tunic and a blue mantle, colors symbolizing the two natures: human and divine, and beneath the robe he wears an ochre-colored shirt with beaded cuffs. Jesus, with his right hand blesses the faithful according to the Oriental rite, while with his left hand he holds the book of Scripture; a geometrically patterned decoration outlines the cross in the nimbus; his bare feet rest on red-adorned carpet. On either side of the mandorla, four angels populate the scene: they wear red tunics with ochre cuffs and have sky-blue stoles on their shoulders; their robes and haloes, like those of Christ, are embellished with small white pearls; tiaras on their heads and necklaces around their necks emphasize their elegance. The four angels support the mandorla in which Christ Triumphant, who has conquered death, is manifested in all his glory.

The deterioration phenomena present on the wall paintings decorating the rock church consist mainly of salt encrustation and biological patinas that create chemical-physical and mechanical damage causing fractures and gaps in the paintings, and hiding the depictions and colors. Consistent with previous conservation work carried out, the restoration of Christ Pantocrator aimed to stop the ongoing degradation and recover the work’s legibility. The painting also had numerous gaps, spread mainly on the lower half of the depiction, and the paint film was extremely delicate due to the thinness of its plaster, as well as to the painting technique used. The cleaning operation, in fact, exposed the presence of a mixed technique of execution of the painting: along with the fresco technique, there is the half-fresco and lime technique. This made the cleaning phase very complex and time-consuming, which was alternated with pre-consolidation of the paint film and consolidation of the support. The biocide treatment was repeated as the salt layers were removed, because pathogens were often found below the concretions. The numerous gaps were filled in with grout, then supplemented with the technique of color selection in order to make the depiction legible.

The statements.

“’The Places of the Heart’ are extraordinary testimonies of value of our cultural heritage, often little known or forgotten, but which always focus the attention of citizens who wish to be enhanced,” says Giuseppe Gini, FAI Sicily regional president. “Very often the initiation of restoration work in these properties can ensure their preservation and become a driver for the attraction of new funds that can change their fortunes. This is among the objectives that the FAI census sets and that, right here in Lentini, has been concretely realized: the recovery of the ’Theory of the Saints,’ financed as a result of the eighth edition of ’I Luoghi del Cuore,’ was the first spark that allowed to attract new funds for other interventions. It was precisely this ability to channel the forces of the area to the Church of the Crucifix, an identity asset of great cultural value, that prompted FAI and Intesa Sanpaolo to fund it again. Congratulations then to the enthusiastic commitment of the Leontinoi nel Cuore Committee, the pastor of the Mother Church former Cathedral Santa Maria la Cava and Sant’Alfio of Lentini and all those who in various capacities have collaborated to return to the community this priceless artistic artifact in a unique landscape setting.”

“Thinking about a Place of the Heart means reliving memories and emotions of special places, often linked to one’s childhood,” says Sergio Cilea, head of the FAI delegation of Syracuse. “But it can happen that it becomes a ’Place of the Heart,’ a place you were unaware of, but as soon as you discover it, it gives you the feeling that it has always belonged to you. This happened with the Church of the Crucifix in Lentini. The presentation to the public of the restoration of the ’Christ Pantocrator’ concludes a new milestone for the Church, but the projects do not end there. The determination of Father Maurizio Pizzo shared by local associations, also with financial support, and the choice of FAI and Intesa Sanpaolo to finance a second restoration, after the ’Theory of the Saints,’ as part of the ’Places of the Heart’ census, have triggered a virtuous process that has gradually involved the cities of Lentini and Carlentini, the Province of Syracuse and later also the Sicilian Region. Today the Church of the Crucifix, a FAI Place of the Heart in southeastern Sicily, has become an important attractor capable of moving tourist flows, creating economy and jobs. This is the Sicily we like to tell, a positive image of a land and its inhabitants.”

“We owe a lot to the ’Places of the Heart’ census,” stresses Don Maurizio Pizzo, pastor of the Mother Church Ex-Cathedral Santa Maria la Cava and Sant’Alfio in Lentini. “FAI - Fondo per l’Ambiente Italiano was the first entity to firmly believe in our community and with its help and the perseverance of our volunteers an incredible virtuous process was triggered. This has not only put the spotlight on an important hidden place for tourism and culture, but has helped the community awaken consciences and laid the foundation for building activities aimed at outlining a better future for the next generations.” Rosaria Fazio, President Aps Neapolis, representing the Leontinoi in the Heart Committee expressed great satisfaction: “To be selected twice within the I Luoghi del Cuore project is an important attestation of esteem. The road of cooperation is impassable; often, in our area, we talk about the self-referentiality of third sector associations, using the rhetorical narrative of envy. We are happy that values such as consistency, collegiality and perseverance prevailed in this case. We have always considered cooperation to be the basis of our activity, and only through the ability to network can this exceptional land of ours, which is Sicily, have real chances to make people talk about its enormous beauty and recover and enhance its immense artistic and cultural treasures. The story of the Rock Church of the Crucifix is an example of redemption that has something incredible and will certainly inspire other new common stories.”

Lentini, fresco of Christ Pantocrator in the rock church of the Crucifix restored

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