Pontormo's Visitation transferred to Prato: its temporary home will be Palazzo Pretorio

A temporary solution has been found for Pontormo’s Visitation . As we reported on these pages, in fact, the church of Saints Michael and Francis in Carmignano, in which Jacopo Carucci’s masterpiece is preserved, along with his Deposition one of the cornerstones of Mannerism and of the entire history of art, is uninhabitable and in need of important and urgent work on its roof. This situation has obliged the Diocese of Pistoia, owner of the property in question, to find a safe location for Pontormo’s Visitation as soon as possible, in agreement with the Superintendency. The work’s temporary home has therefore been identified: the Palazzo Pretorio in Prato, where together with the Visitation the other paintings from the church of San Michele will also be brought, so as to secure all the works and have them all in the same place.

The decision matured after evaluating with the Superintendence the options in the municipality of Carmignano, namely the church of San Luca, the Museum of Artimino and the Pieve di Artimino itself, which, however, unfortunately were not found to be suitable sites to ensure adequate conservation conditions.

The director of Palazzo Pretorio, Rosanna Tocco, and the councillor for Culture of the Municipality of Prato, Simone Mangani, have given their full willingness to take charge of the costs of packaging, transportation and insurance for Pontormo’s Visitation and the other works, and will encourage transfers of the Visitation that will make it possible to obtain resources to be allocated to the restoration of Carmignano, so as to accelerate the work’s return to the parish church of San Michele. With regard to this church, collaboration with the Municipality of Carmignano and with the Region of Tuscany remains fundamental in order to find what is necessary to put hands on the restoration of its roofing as soon as possible, and to this end a concerted and concrete commitment is hoped for.

The Diocese informs that, in the meantime, in collaboration with the Superintendence, the considerable work of consolidation and restoration of the ancient parish complex is underway, also for which funds are still being sought to supplement the conspicuous funding of the CEI from the 8x1000, equal to 70% of the total expenditure of more than 1,200,000 euros. The church of Saints Michael and Francis has been the site of Pontormo’s Visitation since the painting was made: the work was in fact intended for thePintadori altar, located in the building, which, however, has undergone heavy transformations over the centuries.

Pontormo's Visitation transferred to Prato: its temporary home will be Palazzo Pretorio

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