Pontormo's Visitation will be temporarily transferred to the Villa Medicea in Poggio a Caiano

The Diocese of Pistoia announces that it has decided to temporarily exhibit at the Villa Medicea in Poggio a Caiano the Visitation by Pontormo, accepting the proposal put forward by the Municipality of Poggio a Caiano and the Regional Museums Directorate of Tuscany, and in the Sala della Giostra of the Palazzina Reale, now the council chamber, the paintings of the other five altars of the church of San Michele Arcangelo in Carmignano.

This choice is motivated, as we reported on these pages, by the precarious condition of the roofing of the church of San Michele Arcangelo in Carmignano, which endangers the preservation of the pictorial works of the building and in particular Pontormo’s masterpiece. At the urgent request of the Superintendency, and after closing the church in Carmignano, it was therefore decided to move the panel from the church to safe, adjoining premises in the parish, and now to the Villa Medicea in Poggio a Caiano.

The Superintendence supported the placement in the Villa of Poggio a Caiano because of the territorial proximity (the orientation that the Ministry manifested was to leave the works in the territory) and thematic nature of the painted panel, given the presence of Pontormo’s frescoes inside the Villa, to create a direct dialogue between the works. The choice was also motivated by the fact that the Municipality of Poggio a Caiano assumed all the costs of moving to and from the church, insurance and setting up in special display cases, both in the Villa of Poggio a Caiano and in the Palazzina Reale, where microclimatic conditions suitable for the works are guaranteed.

According to the exhibition hypothesis of the Regional Museums Directorate of Tuscany, the Visitation may be displayed in the Sala del Fregio, adjacent to the Hall of Leo X, where the lunette with Vertumno and Pomona, frescoed by Pontormo, can be admired. The Management of the Medici Villa and the Municipality of Poggio a Caiano have also made themselves available to consider lending Pontormo’s panel in order to raise funds for the restoration of the church, the natural and original home of the painting and the place where it is hoped it will return as soon as possible.

In addition, the Municipality of Carmignano, with a special resolution of the Council, has committed itself to promoting actions aimed at the protection and enhancement of the work and the raising of funds necessary for the restoration of the San Michele complex.

Pontormo's Visitation will be temporarily transferred to the Villa Medicea in Poggio a Caiano

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