Ancient art

Bolsena, lower half of a Benedetto Buglioni statue discovered: will be reassembled

Important discovery in Bolsena where, in recent weeks, an unpublished portion of a precious glazed terracotta statue depicting St. Lucy, the patron saint of sight, by Benedetto Buglioni (Florence, 1461 - 1521) was officially identified . The work com...
Read more...

Italia Nostra and the restoration of three Renaissance sculptures at Milan's Duomo Museum

Italia Nostra returns to support Milan's artistic heritage with an intervention that restores new light to three precious sculptures in Milan's Duomo Museum. Thanks to the contribution of the Milan branch of the association, established in 1955 to pr...
Read more...

Florence, Torrigiani's bust of the Redeemer restored and returned to Santa Trinita

In Florence, theOpificio delle Pietre Dure recently completed the restoration of the bust of the Redeemer attributed to Pietro Torrigiani (Florence, 1472 - Seville, 1528), an important Florentine Renaissance sculptor. After a lengthy intervention tha...
Read more...

Modenantiquaria's best work: small monument to Francesco III d'Este awarded

The Modenantiquaria Cremonini Prize was awarded last night for the first time: the award, introduced this year, honors the work of art deemed the most significant at the Modena antiques exhibition, now in its 38th year (it can be visited until Feb. 1...
Read more...

Canova's Colossal Horse will return to display after 50 years

After decades of waiting, Antonio Canova 's Colossal Horse is preparing to return to public display in the Civic Museums of Bassano del Grappa. This monumental work, among the last created by the Possagno sculptor, which remained unfinished after his...
Read more...

Pontremoli Barocca returns: reservations open for 2025 edition

The refined and opulent atmospheres of the Pontremoli Baroque are back in the spotlight in Lunigiana with the new edition of Pontremoli Barocca, the event that, through a tour of churches, villas and palaces, normally not accessible to the public, re...
Read more...

'Welcome back' reborn: restoration of St. Lawrence's Madonna and Child completed

After a long and meticulous restoration conducted by theOpificio delle Pietre Dure, the "Welcome Back," a rare Madonna and Child from the 14th century, is back to shine in the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence. The precious wooden sculpture, one of...
Read more...

Islamic curtains in a 13th-century Ferrara fresco: young scholar interprets iconography

A unique depiction of an Islamic canopy in a 13th-century church, to be precise the church of Sant'Antonio in Polesine in Ferrara. Interpreting the unique iconography is young scholar Federica Gigante of Cambridge University, who published the result...
Read more...

Eagle's Banner returns home after restoration

Sixteen years after the devastating 2009 earthquake, the Gonfalone dell'Aquila, an extraordinary 16th-century work by Giovan Paolo Cardone, finally returns to its city after meticulous restoration by technicians from theOpificio delle Pietre Dure in ...
Read more...

Florence, completed the restoration of Mother Earth in the floor of the Baptistery

After restoration work, Mother Earth, one of the most fascinating inlaid marble carpets in the Baptistery of San Giovanni in Florence, is once again revealed to the public. TheOpera di Santa Maria del Fiore has completed the restoration of the 3.30-b...
Read more...

A treasure rediscovered: 33 restored works return to Marche region after earthquake

After years of waiting and delicate restoration work, 33 precious works of art will finally return to their places of origin in the provinces of Ascoli Piceno, Fermo and Macerata. The redelivery, the result of collaboration between the Soprintendenza...
Read more...

The restoration of Lorenzo Lotto's Visitation: a masterpiece coming back to life. With its mystery

The restoration program of the Visitation by Lorenzo Lotto (Venice, 1480 - Loreto, 1556/1557), a work preserved at the Pinacoteca Civica di Palazzo Pianetti in Jesi, is certainly an important milestone in safeguarding Italy's artistic heritage. The i...
Read more...

How a masterpiece is reborn: The Garden of Villa Richiedei by Angelo Inganni

An important nineteenth-century work that is reborn thanks to a challenging and complex restoration, a small community that rediscovers one of the most important elements of its heritage. We are talking about the painting The Garden of Villa Richiede...
Read more...

Major Caravaggio exhibition coming to Rome. "One of the most ambitious ever."

A jubilee exhibition on Caravaggio is coming to Rome's Palazzo Barberini. For now, not much is known: all that is known are the dates, March 7 to July 6, 2025, the title(Caravaggio 2025) and the names of the curators, namely Francesca Cappelletti (di...
Read more...

A terracotta model by Bernini on permanent loan to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam has received an important sculpture by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (Naples, 1598 - Rome, 1680) on permanent loan from a private collector. It is the only sculpture by the Baroque sculptor to be found in the Netherlands: it is th...
Read more...

Buy for little money a portrait in Texas: it was a precious miniature by Lavinia Fontana

A miniature by Lavinia Fontana (Bologna, 1552 - Rome, 1614) has resurfaced after two hundred years of oblivion: credit for the discovery goes to English antiquarian Nick Cox, owner of the Period Portraits gallery, which specializes in antique portrai...
Read more...