Rome, New Church dome restored. Restoration workshop over 40 meters high

The restoration of the dome of the Chiesa Nuova in Rome, carried out with ordinary funds from the FEC, has been completed; the restoration laboratory was supervised by the Special Superintendence of Rome, directed by Daniela Porro, and was set up at a height of more than forty meters, allowing the team of specialists, coordinated by architect Alessandra Fassio, to enter into direct connection with the frescoes and stuccoes of the dome designed by Pietro da Cortona.

“The important restoration work,” said Daniela Porro, “bears exemplary witness to the action aimed at preserving a history that belongs to everyone and continues to arouse wonder. In recent years, alongside the Worship Buildings Fund and with the Oratorian Congregation, admirable work has been conducted that returns one of Pietro da Cortona’s masterpieces to the community.”

Low-impact and environmentally sustainable strategies were used from the point of view of the technology used, as well as a service elevator that expanded the possibilities of access to the site in total safety.

For the first time since the previous restoration dating back to 1893, work was carried out on the architecture and decorative apparatus. The restoration activities on the frescoes by Pietro da Cortona constituted the last segment, in chronological order, of the overall project that also involved the sites for securing the vaulting and flooring of the Spada Chapel, securing the Presentation Chapel, the partial overhaul of the roofs with the installation of the lifeline system, and the securing of the dome itself including the four pendentives and stucco decorations.

The restoration phase was concluded with the provision of a lighting system aimed at enhancing the property. In view of the size of the monument and the multiplicity of issues, it was necessary to divide the interventions for the different areas of interest. In fact, the church and the adjoining rooms showed widespread deterioration of the interior surfaces, attributable to infiltration of rainwater and rising dampness, which required an accurate diagnostic assessment in order to then proceed to the operational aspects of the interventions carried out with state-of-the-art techniques.

The activities aimed at the restoration and enhancement of the site will continue with the new funds allocated under Law 160 from the FEC, which will cover structural consolidation works, restoration of the decorated surfaces of the apse and the vault of the nave, restoration of the aisles, and implementation of the new lighting system. In addition, with funds from ordinary FEC programming, structural consolidation, restoration of the pictorial surfaces and decorative stuccoes to the restoration of the flooring and marble linings of the central nave of the church, and the resolution of infiltration issues have been followed up.

The restoration was presented at a ceremony attended by Minister of the Interior Matteo Piantedosi, Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano, Special Superintendent Daniela Porro and Provost of the Oratorian Congregation Father Rocco Camillò. The ceremony was preceded by a visit by Ministers Piantedosi and Sangiuliano to the construction site where restoration activities were carried out.

“We are proud of the commitment and passion that officials from the Superintendencies and the Viminale’s Worship Buildings Fund put into preserving and protecting assets of immense historical and artistic value,” said Minister Piantedosi. “And the restoration of the dome of Santa Maria in Vallicella, with the splendid painting by Pietro da Cortona, taken care of by the Special Superintendence with funding from the Ministry of the Interior, is full testimony to this. We will continue along this path in order to preserve, enhance and make citizens discover a priceless heritage consisting of the state-owned buildings of worship and the works of art that are kept there.”

“The religious heritage is part of the identity heritage of the nation,” Minister Sangiuliano added, “and it is our duty to take care of it. We are engaged in many interventions that involve the restoration and enhancement of abbeys, monasteries and churches.”

Rome, New Church dome restored. Restoration workshop over 40 meters high

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