During restoration work in theformer Chapel of San Rocco in Navelli (L’Aquila), owned by the municipality and directed by the ABAP Superintendency provinces of L’Aquila and Teramo, the contracting station for the project, ancient wall paintings long concealed have emerged.
Only a few days after the handover of the work, which took place on October 7, the first inspection by SABAP technicians has already documented remarkable results. During the first phase of descialbo, conducted by restorer Christian Seghetta, pictorial evidence has in fact emerged around the Madonna Enthroned with Child datable to the late 15th century, already known and visible on the left wall of the entrance: a later Annunciation, painted in the upper part, and a Crucifixion in the lunette above, partly cut off by the 18th-century vaulting.
In the second bay, around a niche decorated with shell and faux damask-which originally housed the statue of St. Roch, titular of the sacellum-are resurfacing scenes dedicated to stories of the saint, probably organized on three overlapping registers. At present, the scene of the saint’s death has been completely unearthed.
The intervention, directed by art historian Antonio David Fiore with the support of colleagues Tancredi Farina and Maria Fernanda Falcon Martinez, is aimed at the recovery and enhancement of thechapel’s decorative apparatus and is part of the broader program of protection and preservation of the historical-artistic heritage spread in the centers of the L’Aquila crater, to restore visibility and identity to the area’s art sites.
“The discoveries that have emerged in Navelli,” stresses Superintendent Cristina Collettini, “return to the community an important fragment of the territory’s artistic memory. The quality of the paintings and their iconographic articulation confirm the value of the research that accompanies every restoration site, capable of revealing new and surprising chapters of our history.”
“The find represents an important piece in the historical reconstruction and artistic endowment of our territory,” said Paolo Federico, mayor of Navelli. “Once again, the valuable work done by the professionals of the Superintendency has made it possible to snatch from oblivion important elements that will certainly represent a source of attraction and, above all, of greater understanding of the history of our area. As an administration we will do everything in our power for the proper valorization and popularization of these immense treasures that deserve to be appreciated by the wider public as well.”
The results of the first phase of investigations will be presented to the public on Saturday, Oct. 25 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The special opening of the site is part of the RADICI Project, the enhancement plan promoted annually by the Superintendency. Guided tours will offer the public an opportunity to learn about the discoveries up close and share in the ongoing restoration process.
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| L'Aquila, ancient wall paintings resurface in Navelli at former San Rocco Chapel |
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