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More
than three-quarters of Venice in Peril's
total contribution to Venice has been spent
on the conservation of religious monuments
and works of art in the city. The reason
is simple: while government money is theoretically
available to repair all categories of buildings
it has never been enough to meet the needs
of Venice's 79 churches, which remain largely
dependent on their own efforts. It was the
staff of the Superintendencies for Venice's
artistic treasures which guided the Fund
towards the Madonna dell'Orto, with its
campanile (completed in 1503) famously described
by Ruskin as the city's "last dark
sentinel".
This was the first major project of a British
private committee for the preservation of
Venice. British involvement there began
in 1968 with money raised through the Italian
Art and Archives Rescue Fund (IAARF).The
Madonna dell'Orto's huge paintings by Tintoretto
were among the first to be restored in the
specially created laboratory (partly funded
by the IAARF) in the disused Church of S.
Gregorio. In returning to the church for
phase after phase of work, especially to
its brick and stone exterior, Venice in
Peril was already setting the tone for its
future work.
The Madonna dell'Orto's construction period,
begun with the Gothic rebuilding in 1399,
continued so long that the final sculptures
are almost of the Renaissance. These include
the statue of St Christopher over the main
portal: the church was dedicated to him
in the 12th century, as it still is, despite
its popular naming after a miracle-working
Madonna brought from a nearby orchard. On
the other hand, the parapets with their
stone statues of the twelve Apostles are
still in the Tuscan-influenced Gothic style
and are thought to be from the Dalle Masegne
workshop.
In 1876 the Madonna dell'Orto came to be
used exclusively as a parish church. Much
repair work was done then, and more in 1932.
After that, no work was done until that
begun in 1969 by IAARF-VIP. Thanks to them
the roofs of the 15th-century side-aisles
were renewed; a damp-proof course was inserted
and rotten brickwork was replaced up to
a height of 10ft, using the scuci-cuci method
of patching; the interior paving of 1864
was protected from humidity and internal
plaster was renewed; the façade was
lightly cleaned and the old metal cramps
securing the stones replaced.
In its second campaign, Venice in Peril
took advantage of the considerable advances
made in the intervening twenty years in
techniques of stone and brick repair -a
field in which the Fund has specialised.Between
1992 and 1994 the Superintendency for Monuments,
in collaboration with the chemists and biologists
of its sister Superintendency's scientific
laboratory in the old Scuola della Misericordia
nearby, directed the consolidation and cleaning
of the cotto (ornamental brickwork) and
sculptures on the façade, and the
late medieval brickwork behind them. Venice
in Peril paid for this particularly worthwhile
exercise, and for the preceding chemical
analyses of the material -through which
the best methods of conservation were determined.
In the same campaign the large 1878 Bazzani
organ (which replaced one destroyed in 1864)
was dismantled and repaired, thanks in part
to a donation from the Fondation Jean-Barthélémy.
The task took from 1992 to 1996. Modern
lighting was installed to make one of the
finest Gothic interiors in Venice suitable
for concerts, and to give proper illumination
to its many paintings. These include the
seven canvases by Tintoretto, whose parish
church this was and who was buried in the
chapel to the south of the high altar.
1st campaign, 1968-70 (IAARF)
DIRECTION OF WORKS: Superintendency for
Monuments (subsequently renamed Superintendency
for the Environmental and Architectural
Heritage)
CONSERVATORS
Contractors: Enzo Fassi Restauri
Sculpture: Kenneth Hempel, Giulia Musumeci
2nd campaign, 1992-96 (VIP)
DIRECTION OF WORKS: Superintendency for
the Environmental and Architectural Heritage
CONSERVATORS
Masonry: Consorzio Marciano
Organ: Pasquale Ferrari
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