Siena Cathedral, urgent work to restore the Corniche of the Popes

An emergency operation has been carried out to restore the Cornicione dei Papi, in Siena Cathedral. This was announced by the Metropolitan Opera of Siena, which oversees the cathedral. During some inspection activities at height, carried out in the Cathedral last June, in a section of the Cornicione dei Papi located in the area of the Presbytery, in spite of the layer of dust, an area characterized by numerous lesions on two travertine slabs, and other smaller ones, was in fact identified.

After inspections on ropes by the operators of Acrobatic Monuments Construction, a program of intervention was carried out, in collaboration with the employees of the Technical Area of the Opera della Metropolitana and its Stone Restorers.

At the same time, protective measures were activated for people, for the underlying marble-commissioned floor and for the Crypt, without impeding the normal conduct of liturgical services, both during the Triduum of St. John and for access to the Cathedral by visitors even after the extraordinary uncovering of the floor.

After a series of type launching surveys and the preparation of design reports, a service scaffold made in just two days by Edilcomit had already been completed on June 28, after duly informing the relevant Superintendency, which approved the work. The testing of the scaffold could not have been more severe: on the first day of activity at a height of 18 meters, an earthquake tremor of 3.8 degrees forced the staff to descend immediately, also because the earthquake swarm that affected the City and the Monumental Complex last February immediately came to mind.

The next day, thanks to the availability of Sabap Officer Liliana Mauriello, a technical inspection was carried out at altitude, during which the project proposals prepared by the Opera were confirmed, essentially limited to conservative activities to repair the fractures and consolidate the stone elements. From June 29 onward, the Opera and Acrobatic Construction staff worked hard to comply with the schedule of works agreed with the competent Superintendence and, after only four weeks, with the dismantling of the scaffolding, it was possible to return the Cathedral fully safe to citizens and visitors: a thorough consolidation and structural restoration of the damaged stone elements of the Cornicione dei Papi, completed in a short time.

Siena Cathedral, urgent work to restore the Corniche of the Popes

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