Restoring Greatness

Restorer cleaning the statue of Saint Costanza on Bernini’s Colonnade at the Vatican. Photo by Trisha Thomas

Dear Blog Reader:  I have not posted in a week which I understand is an eternity in the busy blogsphere.  However, I have been busy with my job, first I went back to the Island of Giglio to do more reporting on the shipwrecked Costa Concordia ( see A Chilling Conversation and Kevin’s Puzzle), and then on to the Tuscan Town of Grosseto for the pre-trial hearing in the shipwreck case.  Today I am back in Rome and was thrilled to be covering an incredible restoration going on at the Vatican.  I will be putting together a lengthy television feature for AP next week, but here is a sneak preview for my blog followers. Anyone interested in seeing my tv report, click on this link: (AP Television Report on Restoration at Vatican)

St. Peter’s Square embraced by the famous Bernini Colonnade

Italian sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini designed the spectacular Colonnade that embraces St. Peter’s Square and supervised its construction between 1656-1667.  Each “arm” of the Colonnade that reaches out from the Basilica is made of up of 4 rows of columns carved from travertine.  On top of the columns are 140 statues perched around the edge of the Square.  Bernini began the work under Pope Alexander VII.  Today, Master Restorer Guy Devreux, the head of the Vatican Laboratory for the Restoration of Marble and Casts who is overseeing the operation, took me and the APTN crew on a tour of the restoration project.  He explained to me an interesting historical note.  Pope Alexander VII commissioned the project just as the city of Rome was emerging from a terrible period of plague that had left thousands of dead in the city.  The project helped pull the city out of its difficulties by providing jobs for the poor.  Although the circumstances are considerably different, Devreux was pleased to say that the current project is providing work for 40 restorers among the many involved in the several year restoration project.

Restorer working on the base of one of the 284 columns being restored around the piazza. Photo by Trisha Thomas

Today I witnessed restorers working with painstaking care delicately chipping, scrubbing and sponging some of the 284 columns being restored around the square.

High up on top of the Colonnade restorers looked at documents of the statues and worked off layers of moss and stucco remains of earlier repairs to bring back the aging statues to their original glory.

 

Worker on top of Bernini’s Colonnade near two already restored statues. Photo by Trisha Thomas

This multi-million euro project began with the first test on the statues and columns in 2007 and is expected to continue into 2015.

 

4 thoughts on “Restoring Greatness”

  1. Some years ago, J and I were in a small village tea house miles from anywhere. We were approached by a oldish sort of chap who enquired in both English and French where we were from. Turned out he was a skilled marble restorer who had worked much of his life in France on contracts to various religious and secular buildings. He had done pretty well for himself; retired and bought himself a very nice fruit farm that gave him every opportunity to engage wandering foreigners in conversation over a few glasses of tea. He had some amazing photos of his work.

    1. Trisha Thomas

      That’s fascinating. I can’t imagine there are that many expert marble restorers in the world. I wonder if the man you met knows some of the people involved in this project. I was fascinated watching these restorers work. They are restoring roughly 40,000 square meters of marble with little scrapers and brushes, getting off every piece of lichen and old stucco repairs. They are clearly talented and dedicated craftsmen and women.

  2. Fantastic! I’ve always wondered what they are doing behind all that scaffolding! Thanks for the insight!
    PS it was so great meeting you yesterday! Let’s get together again soon!

  3. Trisha! Wonderful report, will be in the know when I see this in person ! You’ve been busy, glad you could follow up for the ship wreck case! Sorry I just saw your post about the 5th, I’m still in the US, we fly to Rome this Friday and land in Rome Saturday morning 10 March and leave 20 March.

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