Florence, restoration-show of David in Piazzale Michelangelo gets underway

In Florence, the restoration of the David in Piazzale Michelangelo, a reproduction of the more famous one created by Michelangelo Buonarroti and kept at the Accademia Gallery, is starting. This is the first intervention in a program of restoration of Florentine works of art desired and commissioned by the City of Florence, which also includes the sculptural groups in Piazza della Signoria, namely Giambologna’s equestrian statue of Cosimo I de’ Medici, Baccio Bandinelli’sHercules and Cacus and Michelangelo’s copy of David placed at the entrance to Palazzo Vecchio, as well as Donatello ’s copy of Judith on the Arengario in Palazzo Vecchio.

For the David in Piazzale Michelangelo, it is the first structural intervention ever undergone. An endoscopic survey will also be implemented on the work to verify its internal state: the work will restore the David to its original appearance, with a visual impact that promises to be significant. The restoration was made possible thanks to an agreement between the City of Florence and the Florentine fashion house Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A., which, through Art Bonus, donated a liberal donation earmarking it for the conservation of Italy’s artistic heritage. The collaboration came about thanks to the restoration project drawn up in a very tight timeframe by the Fine Arts Service of the Palazzo Vecchio’s Technical Services Department: it was thus possible to renew the relationship with one of the city’s most important donors. In this case, the proposal was formulated with a major conservation action on the civic square in mind, extended to the poggiana terrace that celebrates the city’s image.

As now experienced in other major restoration sites of the administration (from the Fountain of Ammannati to the Hall of the Elements in Palazzo Vecchio), the bidding process was oriented to the acquisition of improved proposals for site logistics aimed at ensuring the perception and enjoyment of the works under restoration, with the intention of ensuring the preservation of the heritage with minimal impact to the public enjoyment of the same. In this context, the contracted company, Cooperativa Archeologia, has proposed a project called “Worksite as an event”: a worksite that itself becomes a stage set, to celebrate the restoration of icons of the collective imagination, guaranteeing the visibility of the monument for tourists and citizens visiting Piazzale Michelangelo, who will indeed have the opportunity to admire the restorers at work. The construction sites of the sculptural groups in Piazza della Signoria, starting in January 2022, will also be interactive in nature, involving the user in an alternative and highly educational visiting experience: accessible by internal pathways, they will have ramps to encourage viewing from a higher vantage point, both to overcome all architectural barriers. They will thus be restoration-shows that will be seen by Florentines and tourists alike.

The philosophy of the intervention is that of the “diffuso museum,” they let the City Council know: a form of museum that comes out of a closed place and reappropriates the territory, with which it restores a bond. The idea proposed for the layout of the site was borrowed from the world of entertainment: the sculptures become protagonists, surrounded by service facilities that do not hinder the enjoyment of the spectacle, that is, the restoration work itself, by the public, citizens and tourists. In fact, the equipment designed to surround the statuary groups is characterized by the modularity and versatility of its components. The minimal configuration of the scaffolding makes it possible to have a total view of the David, while guaranteeing total safety for the restorers. With the fundamental support of Palazzo Vecchio’s Communication Office, a didactic paneling has been set up on the construction site fence, in which the public can find the essential information for a complete enjoyment of the work under restoration: from its history and significance, to the description of the intervention in progress. To complete the spectacular nature of the construction site, the pylons will carry fixtures dedicated to artistic lighting specially designed during the night hours: the use of RGB technology, capable of modulating color according to events, guarantees a true “show” of lights. Throughout the work period, webcams connected to the dedicated website (www.restaurandofirenze.com) will be active, from which it will be possible to observe the work of the restorers at work.

Environmental sustainability, expressly called for in the tender documents, is also a crucial aspect, both in terms of natural resources and the specific context in which the work is being carried out, but also with respect to an extremely sensitive monumental environment. In this context, the contractor ensured all the arrangements and the presence of a “circular manager,” a new figure in the restoration scene, to increase the environmental sustainability of the site areas with particular reference to the collection and disposal of liquids (bronze washing water) and solids (pulp and/or arbocell).

The statements

“We are now restarting with a project conceived and designed when the pandemic was far beyond our imagination and no one could have ever assumed that the world would be closed for months,” say Mayor Dario Nardella and Culture Councillor Tommaso Sacchi. “Now, with the necessary caution but with the hope that thanks to the vaccination we will be able to get out of this nightmare, it seems to us indeed a beautiful sign of rebirth to be able to start such an important and enhancing restoration for our city. Culture is often cited as one of the most important levers of the restart: taking care of our artistic heritage is an ongoing interest of the administration and a way to show love for our city. We thank the maison Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A., which with the tool of Art Bonus accompanies us once again after the valuable restoration of the Ammannati fountain in Piazza della Signoria: with this new project we will see some of our most famous sculptures completely restored in a context that we hope will be truly one of expectation and complete rebirth.”

“We are proud to celebrate together with all Florentines the beginning of the restoration work on the statues in Piazza della Signoria and the copy of the David at Piazzale Michelangelo. Florence has an artistic and cultural heritage of inestimable value, and we firmly believe that its preservation is a priority and a duty for all of us,” stresses Leonardo Ferragamo, Chairman of Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A. “It is precisely this great heritage, which past generations have passed on to us, that must be the strength and inspiration to continue to express the healthy pride and exceptional craftsmanship that are inherent in our culture. It is this that must, moreover, enable us to constantly look to the future, expressing our extraordinary ability in continuously being a point of reference in the world. Florence was chosen by the founder of our company precisely because he was enamored by these values. There exists in us in the company, as in so many Florentines, a strong attachment to the city and the conviction that we can achieve even greater goals, expressing the best of ourselves, precisely because we are strong in these extraordinary traditions.”

“Precisely in the year in which our company crosses the 40-year milestone in the field of cultural heritage,” afferma Susanna Bianchi, chair of the supervisory board of Cooperativa Archeologia, “the restoration of the statuary groups in Piazzale Michelangelo and Piazza della Signoria represents the ’summa’ of our commitment and experience in a purely specialized sector. The organization of the construction site taken care of by the contracting company and the administration’s technical offices will make it possible not to hide the works from view for a few months, as is usually the case for such activities, but rather to emphasize them with studied and expressly dedicated installations and to offrire to Florentine citizens and tourists visiting Florence the ’spectacle’ of our intervention, thus contributing to enhancing not only our extraordinary cultural heritage, but also our professional excellence.”

Florence, restoration-show of David in Piazzale Michelangelo gets underway

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