An extraordinary opening of two restoration sites involving important Renaissance glazed and polychrome terracotta works attributed to Florentine sculptor Benedetto Buglioni (Florence, 1461 - 1521) was held in Bolsena (Viterbo) on Sunday, Oct. 26. These are the statue of Saint Lucy, kept in the Basilica of Santa Cristina, and the baptismal font from the church of San Salvatore. Both interventions, which are complex and delicate, are authorized and followed with special attention by official art historian Saverio Ricci. Visits to the sites, organized by the Pietre Vive association under the patronage of the Diocese of Orvieto-Todi, the Parish of Saints George and Christina and the Superintendency, enabled the public to take a closer look at two works of the highest artistic and historical value, which have long remained little known.
In the Basilica of St. Christina, a place that preserves some of the most important examples of Renaissance art in Bolsena, the restoration of the statue of St. Lucy, attributed to Buglioni, is underway. A Florentine-trained sculptor and ceramist, Benedetto Buglioni was among the principal interpreters of glazed terracotta plastic in the height of the Renaissance, a pupil of the celebrated Luca and Andrea della Robbia, whose tradition he continued by developing an autonomous production of great formal refinement.
For the Basilica of Santa Cristina, the artist created numerous works, including the lunettes of the entrance portals, the monumental tabernacle of the Chapel of the Sacrament, an altarpiece with the Crucifixion and the Eucharistic Miracle, and the funeral bier of Santa Cristina. The statue of St. Lucy, which remained in fragmentary condition for centuries, represents a particularly important discovery: until recently only its upper part was known, while the other fragments, found and identified by restorer Mariano Marziali, have been reassembled and are waiting to be reunited with the bust. At the same time, in the church of San Salvatore, located opposite the Rocca Monaldeschi della Cervara, the restoration of the baptismal font, also attributed to Buglioni, is under way. The Rocca, built between the 13th and 14th centuries, dominates the village and now houses the Territorial Museum of Lake Bolsena. The font, which came from the ancient church of San Salvatore in the Castello district, was dismantled in 1930 to be moved to the modern building, an operation that involved its summary restoration and arbitrary reassembly. The current intervention, entrusted to restorer Louis Dante Pierelli, an expert in glazed terracotta, aims to restore integrity and legibility to the artifact, which has been compromised by centuries of modifications and damage.
Investigations conducted during the restoration revealed the very high quality of the modeling of the six panels decorating the outer basin, depicting the Stories of St. John the Baptist. The accuracy of execution and stylistic consistency with other known works by the Florentine master suggest a direct execution by Buglioni, rather than a workshop work. The formal similarities with the sculpture of Andrea del Verrocchio, among the leading figures of late 15th-century Florence, confirm the technical and artistic level reached by the author, who was capable of blending elegance and naturalness in a sculptural language of great modernity.
The work in the Basilica of Santa Cristina also fits into a context of interventions that includes the architectural restoration of the Chapel of the Sacred Stones, conducted under the high supervision of the official architect Yuri Strozzieri. The chapel, which is closely linked to the cult of the Eucharistic miracle of St. Christine, is the subject of a consolidation and recovery operation involving both structural and decorative elements, with the aim of ensuring the preservation of the monumental complex and the enhancement of its artistic heritage. The entire restoration program is directed by the Office of Ecclesiastical Cultural Heritage of the Diocese of Orvieto-Todi and financed through 8xmille funds allocated to the Catholic Church, with the contribution of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Orvieto. The Superintendence followed and scientifically directed the operations, ensuring the proper management of the operational phases and the methodological consistency of the interventions.
An important role is also played by the Parish of Saints George and Christina, which on the occasion of the Jubilee of Hope promoted a series of ordinary and extraordinary maintenance works, including the restoration of the Chapel of the Sacred Stones, an integral part of the project for the enhancement of the Basilica of St. Christina. The opening to the public of the two construction sites, made possible thanks to the collaboration between entities, religious institutions and restorers, represented an important moment of knowledge and participation for the community. The initiative made it possible to bring citizens closer to the complexity of the restoration work, offering a privileged look at the techniques and materials used and, at the same time, bringing attention back to a fundamental chapter of Tuscan Renaissance art spread throughout the Umbrian-Lazio territory.
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| Two restorations in Bolsena (Viterbo) unearth masterpieces by Benedetto Buglioni |
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