The restoration of the Stories of the Passion by Gaudenzio Ferrari (Valduggia, c. 1475 - Milan, 1546), one of the absolute masterpieces of the Piedmontese Renaissance, housed in the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, has officially begun in Varallo (Vercelli). The intervention, promoted and financed by the Ministry of Culture and directed by the Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio of Novara, represents the first full restoration of the famous and spectacular Tramezzo, dated 1513. The wall frescoed by Gaudentius, with its vivid episodes of the Passion of Christ, has remained substantially intact over the centuries. There is no record of any intervention in the 20th century, except for a simple dusting carried out in 1984. The last documented operation dates from 1877-78, when the painter Giulio Arienta intervened on it, but news about that work is fragmentary and handed down only through the local press of the time.
Today, more than five hundred years after it was created, the work needs delicate cleaning work, which will be carried out mainly with laser technology, one of the most advanced methodologies to ensure precision and respect for the original materials. The same technique will also be applied to the metal foils and three-dimensional stucco elements conceived by Gaudentius, which enrich the narrative layout of the Tramezzo with illusionistic effects of great modernity.
The restoration project stems from an extensive diagnostic campaign conducted in 2024 by the Conservation and Restoration Center “La Venaria Reale,” in collaboration with the Scientific Analysis Laboratory of the Superintendence of the Autonomous Region of Valle d’Aosta. Non-invasive multispectral surveys returned fundamental data on the conservation status of the pictorial surface and additional materials, allowing a targeted intervention plan to be set up. A 3D survey, carried out by the Turin-based firm Esplorativa Architetti, also provided the basis for a computerized monitoring of the site: all the technical data collected will be stored on a digital platform, allowing precise and up-to-date real-time management of the operational phases.
The restoration work will be carried out by the Arkè Consortium of Rome and will be divided into two phases, with completion expected by the end of 2026. Safety coordination has been entrusted to the Eidos studio of Caluso (Turin). The intervention sees the active collaboration of the Municipality of Varallo, owner of the church, the Missionary Sisters of Jesus Eternal Priest who live in the Convent of the Graces, and the Pinacoteca di Varallo, custodian of a precious heritage of Gaudenzian works.
The current worksite is part of a path of enhancement and conservation already begun with the Scarognino Chapel, another early masterpiece by Gaudenzio Ferrari inside the same church, restored and returned to the public in 2023. The chronological approach adopted by the Superintendent’s Office thus makes it possible to observe in sequence the evolution of the techniques and materials used by the artist over a period of a few years, in the same environment.
Gaudenzio Ferrari is considered the greatest Renaissance painter in Piedmont. Trained in contact with Lombard culture and influenced by Leonardo and Bramantino, the artist knew how to combine compositional solemnity with narrative ability, creating scenes of strong emotional and spiritual intensity. Varallo’s Stories of the Passion, made almost life-size with plastic inserts in stucco and metal, represent one of the absolute pinnacles of his production and a unicum in the history of sixteenth-century Italian art, precisely because of the hybridization between painting and sculpture.
Today’s intervention aims to restore legibility to one of the highest testimonies of Valsesian figurative devotion, deeply linked to the spirituality of Sacro Monte di Varallo. For the city and the entire territory, the worksite represents an opportunity for cultural revitalization, capable of strengthening Varallo’s role as a center of reference for the study of Gaudentius and for the enhancement of Renaissance art in Piedmont. The conclusion of the restoration, expected by 2026, will give back to the public and scholars a masterpiece in its full visual power, allowing an in-depth study of the language and technique of a master who knew how to combine local tradition and European breadth.
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| Varallo, restoration of Gaudenzio Ferrari's famous and spectacular Tramezzo kicks off |
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