Vasari's Last Supper saved in 11 seconds: here's the spectacular anti-flood mechanism

Just eleven seconds are needed to secure theLast Supper by Giorgio Vasari (Arezzo, 1511 - Florence, 1574), the large painting from 1546 that was commissioned from the painter from Arezzo for the Convent of the Murate in Florence and was later transferred to Santa Croce after the suppression of religious orders in the age of Napoleon. The spectacular mechanism that ensures the securing of the imposing work (it is nearly six meters wide and weighs about 600 kilograms) was presented yesterday in Florence, bringing it in a few seconds to the safe height located about six meters above the ground. The mechanism was activated for the first time as part of a safeguard exercise in which some 40 volunteers, all with specific skills, took part, ready to act in case of emergencies. The mechanism was designed primarily to protect the work from flood risk, such as the one that heavily hit Florence (and the Basilica of Santa Croce, damaging an impressive amount of works) in 1966. Vasari’s LastSupper was also submerged at the time by water and mud, and a long and very complicated restoration was necessary to repair the damage done to the painting.

The mechanism slides theLast Supper on two supports through the action of a counterweight system with pulleys placed on the outer wall of the building (in fact, systems powered by electricity were avoided to avert the risk of power outages in the event of a disaster), ensuring that it was secured in a very quick time. It was designed by the company Sertec sas and the technical structure of theOpera di Santa Croce, in collaboration with GeoApp, a spin-off of the University of Florence. The safeguard procedure was explained by Giuseppe De Micheli, secretary general of the Opera di Santa Croce, and Elvezio Galanti, former director general of the Department of Civil Protection and professor of Civil Protection at the University of Florence. Video of the mechanism in operation is freely available on the Opera di Santa Croce Facebook page.

Vasari's Last Supper saved in 11 seconds: here's the spectacular anti-flood mechanism

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