Displaying items by tag: giotto

A leading Italian art restorer has denied his team has permanently damaged a series of medieval frescoes by Giotto and other artists.

Sergio Fusetti, lead restorer at the Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi, said claims by an expert reported in the Italian press over damage to the frescoes were completely unfounded.

“The problem doesn’t exist. We carry out regular checks and maintenance, taking off the hard dust that’s been deposited on the frescoes. We have never done anything without the authorisation from the superintendency, which is the culture ministry in the territory,” he told the Guardian.

Padua’s celebrated Scrovegni Chapel, which houses exceptional frescoes by trecento painter and architect Giotto, was struck by a bolt of lightning on August 9.

The iron cross on the facade was seriously damaged and subsequently removed. The entire electrical system was temporarily knocked offline. The Gazetta del Sud also reports the damage of outside stones.

According to Il Secolo XIX, the news was broken almost three weeks after the event by the local association “the Amissi Piovego.” The group raised the alarm before any statement from city hall was released.