The restoration of the high altarpiece with theAssumption of the Virgin, one of the greatest masterpieces of the Brescian Renaissance, is currently underway inBrescia’s Duomo Vecchio. The work, created between 1524 and 1526 by Alessandro Bonvicino, known as Moretto, has an imposing carved and gilded wooden altarpiece framing it, which is also undergoing conservation work. The altarpiece of the Assumption is divided into two overlapping registers, separated by a dense band of clouds. The upper part is dominated by the majestic figure of the Virgin, lifted heavenward amid angelic choirs; in the lower scene, on the other hand, the apostles react with amazement before the empty tomb, expressing through diversified postures and accentuated gestures a wonder filled with disbelief at the prodigy taking place before their eyes.
In order to allow the public to closely follow the different stages of the work and to grasp previously unseen details of the large canvas, the first round of guided tours of the Moretto Shipyard will be held on Saturday, February 21, 2026. Five rounds are scheduled throughout the day, each reserved for groups of up to ten participants, with departures at 10:30 am, 11:30 am, 2:00 pm, 3:00 pm and 4:00 pm. Admission is free, but reservations are required by writing to visiteassuntamoretto@libero.it
Visitors will be guided by Davide Dotti, scientific and organizational manager of the restoration; restorer in charge Antonio Zaccaria; and Vincenzo Gheroldi, author of the diagnostic investigations. Their expertise will offer three complementary perspectives that will propose an articulate and multidisciplinary reading of the work.
Climbing the imposing scaffold, the public will have the opportunity to get close to the canvas, closely observing its protagonists, color range and pictorial matter; exceptionally, it will also be possible to examine its backside.
The interventions, promoted on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the painting’s execution, are supported by Ca’ del Bosco and Venetian Heritage Foundation, with the patronage of the Diocese of Brescia and the Cathedral Parish. The scientific and organizational coordination is entrusted to Davide Dotti, while the work is being carried out by the Antonio Zaccaria restoration laboratory under the supervision of Silvia Massari and Andrea Quecchia of the Brescia Superintendency.
Given the considerable size of the canvas (472 x 310 cm), placed at a height of about 4.5 meters and inserted in a monumental gilded wooden ancona, the choice was made to work directly on site, avoiding transport and handling that could have caused stress or harmful thermo-hygrometric changes. The painting was then removed from the frame and placed, kept upright and accessible on both sides, in the center of the platform of a specially built scaffold.
The restoration involves both the structural aspects of the textile support and the aesthetic recovery of the pictorial surface. The conservation intervention was preceded and accompanied in all its phases by in-depth non-invasive diagnostic investigations, conducted by Vincenzo Gheroldi, aimed at analyzing the state of conservation and the execution technique of the work, even beyond what is visible to the naked eye.
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| Brescia, guided tours of Moretto's Assumption of the Virgin restoration site |
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