Ancient art

Palazzo Milzetti: The Art Bonus Program Kicks Off to Restore the Paintings in the Capanna Rustica

A fundraising campaign through the Art Bonus program has kicked off in Faenza to fund the restoration of the painted walls of the Capanna rustica at Palazzo Milzetti. The initiative is sponsored by the National Museums of Bologna and the Regional Dir...
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Bolton Adopts a Statue from Milan Cathedral: The Enigmatic Hercules, or “Warrior Saint,” Has Been Restored

Bolton, a historic Italian family-owned company and a leader in the production and distribution of consumer goods, supported the restoration of*Ercole o santo guerriero*(Herculesor theWarrior Saint), a sculpture that is part of the extraordinary heri...
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A rare fragment of an altarpiece by Gaudenzio Ferrari has resurfaced: Matteo Salamon is bringing it to the BIAF

For nearly two centuries, all trace of Gaudenzio Ferrari’s (Valduggia, 1475 – Milan, 1546) *Saint Anthony of Padua* had been lost. The panel was part of an altarpiece intended for the high altar of the Church of Santa Chiara in Milan, and...
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St. Peter's Basilica: The dome of the Clementine Chapel has been restored; 371 square meters of mosaics have been preserved

More than 300 square meters of mosaics—371, to be exact—created in the early 17th century based on cartoons by Cristofano Roncalli, known as il Pomarancio (Pomarance, 1552 – Rome, 1626), are once again visible in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. ...
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How a Painting Changes After Restoration: Here Are the Colors of Neri di Bicci’s “Annunciation”

To understand just how much a painting can change after restoration, one need only look atthe *Annunciation* by Neri di Bicci (Florence, 1418/1420–1492) in the Church of Sant’Agata in Florence. Beneath a thick layer of grime, yellowed var...
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Michelangelo's first design for San Lorenzo will be put on display and then undergo restoration

The project for the façade of the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence was never completed, but the grand design conceived by Michelangelo Buonarroti ( Caprese, 1475 – Rome, 1564) for the Medici church, a particularly significant artifact remain...
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The Antiquarium at Villa Albani Torlonia is expanding and adding twenty new polychrome marble sculptures to its collection

The Antiquarium delle Scuderie at Villa Albani Torlonia in Rome is expanding its exhibition program and opening a new space to the public dedicated to the exhibition *Marmora Romana*. Curated by Carlo Gasparri, the exhibition explores the history and...
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Possagno: Canova’s *Amorino* Restored—The Long History of the Plaster’s Conservation

In Possagno (Treviso), the restorationof the *Amorino*—also known as *Prince Henryk Lubomirski*—was unveiled. This is one of the most significant and fragile plaster models preserved in the collection of the Gypsotheca Antonio Canova Museum. The work...
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Catalonia Acquires Masterpieces by Juan de Zurbarán and Mengs for Its Collections

Two major acquisitions for the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya in Barcelona: The Department of Culture of Catalonia has acquired two particularly valuable paintings for its collections: *Bodegón del molinillo de chocolate* ( “Sti...
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The Netherlands: The Mauritshuis and the Rijksmuseum Jointly Acquire a Masterpiece by Avercamp

Joint acquisition by two Dutch museums: the Mauritshuis in The Hague and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam have jointly acquired a masterpiece by Hendrick Avercamp (Amsterdam, 1585 – Kampen, 1634), *Players of Kolf on Ice*, a painting dating from a...
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A fragment of the *Odyssey* dating from the 3rd or 4th century was discovered hidden in a library in Utrecht (Netherlands)

A fragment of Homer’s*Odyssey* dating from the 3rd or 4th century A.D. has been discovered in the special collections of Utrecht University in Utrecht, the Netherlands. The discovery was made by Mark de Kreij of Radboud University as part of a ...
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Florence: The "Madonna and Child" from Santa Maria Nuova Has Been Restored

In Florence , the *Madonna and Child*, a 17th-century painting that—thanks to recent restoration work—has been attributed to the circle of Francesco Curradi (Florence, 1570–1661), is once again on display in the women’s gallery of the museum t...
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Spain Recovers a Beautiful Flemish Painting, Thanks in Part to the Carabinieri

The Spanish Ministry of Culture has presented the Museum of Fine Arts in La Coruña—a state-owned institution whose administration has been transferred to the Galician regional government—with a beautiful 16th-century Flemish panel painting dep...
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Arcimboldo’s *The Gardener* Under the Microscope with a High-Resolution CT Scan: New Studies on the Famous Painting

A sophisticated diagnostic test, normally used in medical research, is now being applied to the world of art to investigate one of Giuseppe Arcimboldo’s most intriguing paintings. The painting in question is *L’Ortolano*(The Gardener), ho...
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An ancient textile, preserved for centuries at the Vallegloria Monastery in Spello, may date from Fatimid Egypt

A textile artifact of extraordinary refinement, which has been preserved for generations by the nuns of the Vallegloria Monastery in Spello, is now the focus of a major research and conservation project. Initial assessments by experts have revealed f...
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Giotto Shines Once Again at Santa Croce: The "Stories of St. Francis" in the Bardi Chapel Have Been Restored

After four years of work, Giotto’s *Stories of St. Francis* in the Bardi Chapel of the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence are once again fully visible. The extensive restoration has made it possible to restore the paintings’ expressive p...
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