Venice, restoration finished on mosaics of St. Mark's Basilica

Restoration work on the mosaics of the central portal of the narthex of St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, begun in 2012 and conducted by mosaicists from St. Mark’s Procutatoria, has been completed. These are very old works: they were made on several occasions between 1094, the year the Basilica was consecrated, and the first half of the 16th century. Probably begun by Greek artists, they were finished by Venetian craftsmen.

Restoration was necessary because of the serious state of preservation in which the mosaics were in: some portions had even detached from the wall. Consolidation of the support was therefore undertaken, followed by cleaning. To complete the work, diapason and stethoscope analyses were also carried out.

The conclusion of the work was also an opportunity to commemorate the figure of Giambattista Miani, one of the restorers involved in the work, who passed away in 2015, at the age of thirty-six, just as he was on the scaffolding working on the mosaics: caught by a stroke, he fell to the ground after a six-meter flight and passed away at the All’Angelo Hospital in Venice. The remembrance of the young mosaicist took place during the blessing ceremony of the mosaics held by the Patriarch of Venice, Francesco Moraglia.

Image: the mosaics of the central portal of the narthex of St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice. Ph. Credit

Venice, restoration finished on mosaics of St. Mark's Basilica

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