Genesis of a restoration
The restoration of the frescoes carried out by Giotto in the Bardi Chapel has been entrusted by the Opera di Santa Croce to the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, (OPD), the most prestigious restoration body in Italy, also considered an excellence throughout the world.
This unique opportunity to study and restore Giotto's wall paintings depicting the Stories of St. Francis in the Bardi Chapel in Santa Croce started in June 2022, thanks to the collaboration between Opera di Santa Croce and Opificio delle Pietre Dure
The total duration of the restoration work is thirty-six months, and we are now at an advanced stage; the current work is also the ideal continuation of the activities started by the Opificio as early as 2010, when, thanks to a grant from the Getty Foundation, an innovative diagnostic campaign of a technical-scientific nature was conducted extending the wide range of non-invasive, analytical investigations aimed at finding out more about Giotto's technique and the state of conservation of both the Bardi and the adjacent Peruzzi Chapel. Initially, the OPD needed to study these pictorial cycles in depth to understand their real conditions and to be able to create a long-term conservation programme.
The idea of this restoration project therefore comes from afar and is due in particular to the determination and great professionalism of the late Marco Ciatti, former Superintendent of the Opificio, who in 2018 developed and signed the first agreement between OPD, Opera di Santa Croce and ARPAI (Association for the Restoration of the Italian Artistic Heritage) in support of an extraordinary enterprise that, having also overcome the obstacle of the pandemic, is now a reality and which, thanks also to the fundamental support of the Fondazione CR Firenze, is about to enter its final year of work.
The total economic commitment is over 1 million euros and we have received the generous support of: Both the Fondazione CR Firenze and A.R.P.A.I. intervene through Art bonus, an Italian tax bonus for those who support culture.
Now we just need you, and your generosity to help us to complete this unique project within a year; Any contribution, however large or small, will be accepted with deep gratitude and your name will be entered into the donor’s book kept in the historical archives.