The Classe Veil, an ancient embroidered textile artifact, is back on display at the National Museum of Ravenna

Thanks to a new arrangement, the Veil of Classe is back on display at the National Museum of Ravenna: this is an early medieval textile artifact of great importance consisting of three fragments from a liturgical cloth with embroidered images depicting saints and bishops from Verona. Its importance lies precisely in the presence of embroidered images accompanied by names also embroidered, which referred to a diptych list of a church, later revealed to be bishops of Verona. Reused to decorate a sacred vestment, it was kept for centuries by the monks of Classe and later came to the National Museum in Ravenna, where it now returns to display after a conservation and exhibition project.

“We decided, as soon as economic resources allowed us, to start a new conservation and exhibition project,” said director Emanuela Fiori. "The task of verification and rearrangement has been entrusted to the professionals of R.T. Textile Restoration, who have repurposed cutting-edge technological solutions, already successfully tested for the textiles from the tomb of San Giuliano."

"On this occasion, it was decided to carry out in-depth diagnostic investigations in order to learn more about the composition of this extraordinary artifact. One intriguing question is undoubtedly about the materials that compose it," added Giorgio Cozzolino, head of the Emilia-Romagna Regional Museums Directorate.

The Science and Technology for Cultural Heritage Laboratory “Cesare Gnudi” of the Regional Directorate of Museums Emilia-Romagna and the Laboratory of Microchemistry and Microscopy for Cultural Heritage of the University of Bologna have been working on this aspect.

The Veil materials were studied chemically, using sophisticated analytical tools such as hyperspectral imaging and infrared microscopy techniques.

The first results of the investigations will be presented on January 18, 2023 at 5 p.m. in the conference room of the National Museum of Ravenna. Afterwards, it will be possible to admire the Veil in its new display, inside the Hall of Ancient Textiles.

The Classe Veil, an ancient embroidered textile artifact, is back on display at the National Museum of Ravenna

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