Bergamo, truck misses maneuver: knocks down church porch and damages Baschenis frescoes

The small church of Santa Margherita di Cividate al Piano (Bergamo) was devastated Monday, July 12, at around 9:30 a.m. by a truck due to a mistake during a maneuver. Driven off the road by the navigator, in an area of the town interdicted to heavy traffic, the truck took via Peschiera and in order to exit the narrow road touched the porch of the church, built in the 12th century but extensively remodeled in the following centuries, irreparably knocking it down: the two Tuscan columns collapsed, the roofing, and also partially damaged the fresco that adorns the facade, the work of Pietro Baschenis (Bergamo, 1590/1600 - 1630), also the author of the frescoes in the interior.

Rubble was removed during the course of the day, but an estimate of the damage is not yet known. For the church of Santa Margherita, however, this is not, unfortunately, a first: already a few years ago the porch was destroyed by another maneuvering truck, but it had been rebuilt. The mayor, Gianni Forlani, has announced that, after the work has been secured, solutions will be evaluated to prevent similar accidents from happening again: also under study is the installation of a horizontal bar to prevent the passage of vehicles that exceed a certain height.

In the photo (left Lombardy Cultural Heritage, right FB group “Sei di Cividate Se”): the little church before and after the accident

Bergamo, truck misses maneuver: knocks down church porch and damages Baschenis frescoes

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