Firenze, 15 June. (askanews) – An impressive four-year restoration that gives new life to Giotto’s frescoes in the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence. The restorers are putting the finishing touches ahead of the official reopening in September. The frescoes that were created after 1317 adorn the walls of the Bardi Chapel and depict the life of Saint Francis of Assisi, patron saint of Italy, are considered one of Giotto’s masterpieces as explained by Renata Pintus, head of the masonry department of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure.
“Perhaps the greatest emotion is feeling a bit as if we had been on the scaffolding with Giotto… retracing the creative phases of the creation of a masterpiece like this”. Once virtually forgotten after being covered in lime, the frescoes began to be brought to light in the mid-19th century. The last restoration was carried out between 1957 and 1958, this new work is of enormous importance adds Stefano Filipponi, head of the Opera di Santa Croce.
“The previous intervention, very important and which took place in the 1950s, had removed all the non-original parts, effectively restoring Giotto’s painting, but in the missing areas, following the approach of the time, had introduced neutral covering elements which make reading the work in its entirety quite difficult. Now the scenes will be understandable in Giotto’s original intent, that is to build three-dimensional “machines” of great impact for his contemporaries, and which still amaze us today, within which real people experience emotions and express them physically. Something extremely direct, narrative and engaging.”
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