THE EVENT

On Tuesday 12 December at 9.15 am at the Accademia Nazionale di Danza in Largo Arrigo VII, 5, in Rome, the restoration of the mural painting La corsa dei Barberi painted by Corrado Cagli in 1935 will be presented to the public.

Speakers include Lucia Chiappetta Cajola and Annamaria Galeotti, President and Director of the National Dance Academy (AND), Alessandra Marino, Director of the Central Institute for Restoration (ICR), Daniela Porro, Special Superintendent of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape (SS-ABAP) of Rome, Stefano Pighini, Executive Vice President of LoveItaly and Gloria Arditi, Founding Member of LoveItaly.

The restoration – spearheaded by Ester Coen, former president of AND, to celebrate the seventieth anniversary of its foundation – is the result of the active collaboration between AND, ICR and the Special Superintendency of Fine Archaeology. Arts and Landscape of Rome. The Ruth Stanton Foundation of New York generously financed the intervention, with the collaboration of LoveItaly; the “Corrado Cagli” Archive and the archive of the “National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art” took part in the project. The restoration was carried out under the direction of the ICR by Cecilia Bernardini with the collaboration of Gabriella Gaggi and Daniela Milani.

The mural represents the famous riderless horse race held on Via del Corso to celebrate Roman Carnival; the term “Barbers” referred to the steeds originating from Barbary, a region of North-West Africa which included Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya.

The work was created in 1935 by Corrado Cagli, with the collaboration of Mirko Basaldella and Aldo Salvadori, for the library of Castello dei Cesari, renovated in a rationalist style by the architect Gaetano Minnucci for use as the headquarters of the Casa della Gioventù Italiana of Littorio.

The mural, judged unsuitable for the environment in terms of theme and style, was ordered to be destroyed by the Minister of Corporations Renato Ricci, but was saved by a false wall of plaster and reeds built by Cagli himself, removed in 1945 by Mirko Basaldella.

THE RESTORATION

The restoration is in line with ICR’s remit for techniques of twentieth-century mural painting, which also includes the restoration of the mural by Mario Sironi in the Aula Magna of the Rectorate of the University City (1935), designed and carried out by ICR with Sapienza University of Rome, concluded in 2017. La corsa dei Barberi, a figurative document of great importance in Corrado Cagli’s work and, more generally, in the context of Italian figurative art between the two wars, has been subject to various restoration interventions since the 1960s; ICR also carried out conservation operations in 1997 under the direction of Michele Cordaro. Its nature as a dry painting, executed on a dry wall with upper layers of tempera paint, makes it fragile.

Twenty years later, the consequences of past water leaks, solar radiation, the intensive use of the room for dance purposes, the deposits of atmospheric dust and the alteration of the materials from previous restorations lead to an impoverishment and alteration of the pictorial film which appeared detached in several places and at risk of falling.  The current restoration addressed the problem holistically: as a preliminary step, diagnostic investigations were carried out, accompanied by environmental monitoring of the classroom for an entire calendar year. The Academy and the Superintendency of Rome carried out the renovation, waterproofing the terrace above the room and adapting the fixtures, with double glazing and anti-UV filters in compliance with the type of work.

The restoration of the painted wall involved the consolidation of detached plaster, where necessary; the restoration of surface continuity to the pictorial film, at risk of falling, through re-adhesion and cohesion operations; cautious cleaning and the removal of bleach and alterations from the previous restorations; the removal of old fillings with a scalpel; the sealing of gaps with new, more suitable material; and the reinstatement of the pictorial film. Innovative materials, previously tested in ICR, were also used. To give back the correct reading of the figurative painting, as supported by studies and documentary research, tone glazes and vertical hatching techniques were used to integrate the pictorial film, alternating paint with watercolour and water-soluble pastels

As usual for ICR, a multidisciplinary group of technicians was involved in the restoration: architects, art historians, restorers, chemists, physicists, biologists, photographers. In addition, the expertise of ICR Laboratory of Chemistry and Material Testing, the Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry of the University of Pisa was involved.

Before and during the process, the mural became the subject of the thesis of a student at ICR in Rome, candidate for the qualification of restorer of cultural heritage (LMR/02). 

ISTITUTO CENTRALE PER IL RESTAURO

Working group

ICR Director: Alessandra Marino

Coordination and Works Management: Laura D’Agostino (art historian), Paola Mezzadri (restorer).

Fabio Aramini (physicist), Marco Bartolini (biologist), Carlo Cacace (physicist), Donatella Cavezzali (architect), Lucia Conti (geologist), Rocco D’Urso (surveyor), Edoardo Loliva (photographer), Cristina Lollai (art historian), Barbara Provinciali (restorer), Giancarlo Sidoti (chemist), Cristina Udina (architect).

Thesis

Candidate: Giovanna Morricone 65th ICR SAF course in Rome, PFP1 (Professional Training Path 1: stone materials and derivatives – decorated surfaces of architecture), a. to. 2018 – 2019.

Title: “The Barberi race by Corrado Cagli: study of the execution technique, interaction with the environment and restoration of sample areas”.

Thesis advisor: Paola Mezzadri

L'articolo Cagli’s wild race restored proviene da Love Italy.

This restoration was made possible thanks to the very generous support of: San Francisco/Assisi Sister City Committee;  Roots of Peace; Knights of Saint Francis; American Friends of LoveItaly, among others.

A very warm thank you to Mayor of Assisi, Stefania Proietti.

L'articolo The Frate Elia Shrine .. before proviene da Love Italy.

In this initial phase of funding, work is concentrated on the statue of St. Joseph and is scheduled for completion by the end of August.

By joining the campaign, you will help raise the funds necessary to start restoration of the other statues belonging to the historic Confraternity:  the Madonna of the Angels, St. Isidore (patron of farmers) and St. John the Baptist and ensure their future preservation.

L'articolo Gallipoli: St. Joseph restored proviene da Love Italy.

Be an Angel and ensure that the work continues with a donation.

L'articolo Restoring Giotto | Basilica of Assisi proviene da Love Italy.

The goal was reached before the official closing date and ensures the restoration of the almost life-sized fresco that is one of the earliest depictions of the saint, dating back to the inauguration of the Basilica in his name.  Positioned at the entrance to the Basilica, the saint offers a greeting to visitors and pilgrims and will soon be admired in its original beauty.

The Basilica is not only an architectural jewel, it contains an unique and ancient heritage making it one of the world’s artistic masterpieces.  This requires extraordinary measures and commitment to ensure the state of conservation and safeguard the future of the many masterpieces it houses.  The successful conclusion of this campaign makes an important contribution to this effort and to the work of the Veneranda Arca, the custodians.

Emanuele Tessari, Presidente Capo of the La Veneranda Arca di S. Antonio expressed his appreciation of the result, thanking all those who contributed to the project:  “We should all be very happy with the success of this fundraising initiative.  The tangible gestures of support for the restoration of the fresco, made by visitors, worshippers and art lovers from Padova and beyond, is a significant indication that people are becoming aware of the need to safeguard our heritage”.

“This experience confirms crowdfunding as a valid tool for fundraising to support artistic and cultural heritage activities and initiatives – an alternative to traditional methods of public administration intervention or private sponsorship – able to actively engage the local and global communities”, said Stefano Pighini, President of LVenture Group and Vicepresident of LoveItaly, who added: “This is why LVenture Group – a holding floated on the Stock Exchange that invests in digital startups – decided to support the  platform  in 2015 to revolutionize the approach towards the care and support of Italy’s works of art”.

L'articolo Goal reached: St. Anthony fresco to be restored proviene da Love Italy.

by Paolo Veneziano

Among the many precious works of art in the permanent collection of San Severino Marche’s Pinacoteca Civica is a 14^th century jewel – a polyptych attributed to the Venetian artist Paolo Veneziano (1300- 1365), known as “the Saints”.    The piece comes with a mystery as the central, upper part is clearly missing, along with other features usual for an altarpiece like this, such as the predella.

The Saints by Paolo Veneziano

After the Unification of Italy, many works of art in Italy went missing, entirely or partially, following the 1861 decree suppressing religious orders.  In the ensuing confusion, congregations hid or removed their treasures to avoid their seizure or to sell to collectors or merchants.  The polyptych – at the time attributed to Allegretto Nuzi – was no exception.  Along with other treasures from the Church of St Maria del Glorioso (where it was first catalogued), it was entrusted to a tenant farmer who used it as a screen in his home.  It was later removed by a local dignitary who had it brought, at night, to his palace where it stayed until a formal ministerial request returned it to the city.   When finally produced, the piece was in 19 pieces, having previously been dismantled to pass undetected.

However, this is not where the mystery starts.  The central upper part was already missing in 1820 when Giuseppe Ranaldi (1790-1854), a resident of San Severino Marche, catalogued the artistic heritage of the city in several volumes entitled Memorie di belle arti.  It was clear to him that “there must have been other figures in the midst of this order” and he concluded that “perhaps the main piece was missing”.  Later, the polyptych would be attributed to the Venetian School of XIV century, first to Lorenzo and later Paolo Veneziano.  At the same time as the attribution, various suggestions about the missing pieces were made, including “The Coronation of the Virgin” in the Frick Collection, New York and the “Crucifixion” in the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.

Paolo & Giovanni Veneziano, The Frick Collection

Today, the municipality of San Severino Marche wants to create a digital version of the polyptych.  Additionally, with the assistance of LoveItaly, the Municipality is working with Prof. Clini of Distori.org (Digital Heritage Lab of the Polytechnic University of the Marche) and ISCR (Italy’s National Institute of Conservation and Restoration) to investigate the compatibility of existing pieces that could have been part of the original polyptych.  To quote Federico Zevi, the Italian art historian: “The Polyptych must have been monumental … an exceptional size.  The central piece ..  has not yet been found.  I have many theories about this, however none seem definitive.”

Last month, the first tests were carried out by ISCR experts.  A spectrophotometer was used to measure the intensity of light on color and infrared analyses while high definition photographs will serve for in-depth information.  The results will be compared to similar tests on other pieces and perhaps a 200-year-old mystery may– partially – be solved.

L'articolo Mystery of the San Severino Polyptych proviene da Love Italy.

L'articolo Work begins on oldest portrait of St. Anthony proviene da Love Italy.

The campaign to raise funds to restore the painting “The Ecstasy of St. Teresa of Avila” by Palma the Younger ended successfully, thanks to the support of many Restoration Angels. Your contributions funded a long and complex restoration process and brought new life to this 400 year old work of art. Now shining in its original colours and with a new backing, it can be admired in the Chiesa di San Pancrazio, Rome for many centuries to come!

The support of many ‘Restoration Angels’ funded a long and complex restoration process and brought new life to this masterpiece from the 1600s.

L'articolo Restoration completed > Thanking all donor angels proviene da Love Italy.

“THE RACE OF THE BERBER HORSES”

by Corrado Cagli (1935)

at the National Academy of Dance in Rome.

 Thanks to the generous donation from the Ruth Stanton Foundation in New York, conservation work has restored Corrado Cagli’s Race of the Berber Horses, a mural painting in the main dance room of the Italian National Academy of Dance in Rome.

The Story

The race of the riderless Berber horses (a North African breed also used in the Palio di Siena and sometimes referred to as Barber) in the Corso was a feature of the Roman Carnival. This was already based on a long tradition of tournaments and races when in 1462, after the election of Pope Paul II, Via del Corso (then known as Via Lata) was built purposely for races. The main event in the carnival was the race of the Berber horses. The horses were gathered around the obelisk in Piazza del Popolo where stands were erected so that the richest and most powerful people in the city could watch  the race start close hand. People would rent space along the Via Lata to watch the race and the balconies overlooking the street were adorned with ribbons and brocade and crowded with spectators throwing flowers and confetti.

The horses galloped down Via Lata to Piazza Venezia, where a large drape hanging across the road marked the finish line. The arrival and “capture” of the horses are remembered as extremely spectacular moments. Nobles, members of royal families, artists and travelers flocked to Rome for the race as the many written accounts and drawings that have been passed down attest. However, following the death of a young onlooker, King Vittorio Emanuele II abolished the event in 1874, which marked the beginning of the decline of the carnival of Rome.

The artist Corrado Cagli was commissioned in 1935 to decorate the walls of the Library for the newly planned building of the Balilla National Youth Organization by the architect Gaetano Minnucci. The mural he created depicts the Race of the Berber Horses, commemorating the famous event of the past. Although commissioned during the Fascist period, the theme was not considered appropriate for the ideological rhetoric of the regime and the order was given to destroy the work.  However, Cagli succeeded in building a false wall in front of it, which was never discovered.   The wall was dismantled in 1945, bringing back to life a landmark testimony of the Italian culture of the Thirties.

LoveItaly was mandated by the National Academy of Dance and the National Institute of Conservation and Restoration to apply for a grant from the Ruth Stanton Foundation to finance the restoration of the mural painting by Corrado Cagli in the main hall of the National Academy of Dance in Rome.

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L'articolo Restoration completed on 1930s mural painting proviene da Love Italy.

The wall painting has a fascinating story: commissioned in the early 1930s, its destruction was ordered several years later by the same regime and its survival is due to a false wall that kept it hidden until the end of the war. The restoration project will be accompanied by academic theses which will attempt to answer the numerous questions that swirl around this vibrant work.

Stefano Pighini, Vice-president di LoveItaly, said at the end of the press conference that “This important restoration project brings together the highest levels of excellence and professionalism embodied by the Superior Institute for Conservation and Restoration (ISCR), the sensitivity of AND and the dedication of LoveItaly: all elements that demonstrate the commitment and excellence in Italy towards the conservation of cultural and artistic heritage conservation. I thank everyone involved in this project for bringing a work of inestimable value to light”.

With special thanks to the Ruth Stanton Foundation of New York and Franck Giraud.

L'articolo Press Conference: announcing the restoration proviene da Love Italy.