At the Poldi Pezzoli Museum in Milan, the Salone Dorato is the focus of a major restoration project supported by the World Monuments Fund, one of the leading international organizations dedicated to the preservation of cultural heritage, which has been active in Italy since 1966 and has completed over one hundred projects. The project began with a major discovery: hidden beneath the plasterboard false ceiling installed in the 1970s wasthe perfectly preservedmarble arch of the original serliana designed by Lodovico Pogliaghi, embellished with bronze elements crafted by Giuseppe Speluzzi. The restoration will allow the hall to be returned to its original mid-19th-century layout.
Conceived as a unified space dedicated to Renaissance art, the Salone featured a gilded coffered ceiling, walls covered in yellow silk damask, a spectacular serliana arch overlooking the garden, and paintings displayed on period easels. This innovative museum design became a model for major international institutions, including the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston and the Frick Collection in New York.
The bombings of 1943 caused severe damage to the Salone, destroying much of the original decoration. Subsequent reconstruction efforts further altered the room, culminating in the installation of a false ceiling in the 1970s, which concealed the Serlian arch without compromising its structure.
Preliminary surveys have confirmed the excellent state of preservation of the marble arch of the Serlian arch. The project, designed by architect Piero Guicciardini, involved the removal of the 1974 false ceiling and the restoration of the Salone’s original proportions, revealing the polychrome marble and bronze decorations once again. For the first time since World War II, the panels of the Renaissance ceiling and the historic tapestries will also be able to be returned to their original positions.
The restoration will be accompanied by an educational exhibition that will illustrate to visitors the evolution of the Hall, from its 19th-century conception through its destruction during the war, to the postwar interventions and the current restoration project.
The initiative also coincides with the launch of World Monuments Fund Italia, the new national chapter of the organization founded in New York in 1965, thereby strengthening its historic ties to Italy’s cultural heritage.
“The restoration project is based on a careful analysis of documentary sources that began more than a year ago—an extraordinary story contained in the archival documents of the Poldi Pezzoli House and in historical images,” explains Alessandra Quarto, director of the Poldi Pezzoli Museum. “Today more than ever, it is necessary to reaffirm that the protection of cultural heritage is a shared responsibility. We are proud that this new chapter for the World Monuments Fund begins right here in the Salone Dorato, home to the Renaissance masterpieces of the Poldi Pezzoli Museum.”
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| The Golden Hall at the Poldi Pezzoli Museum will be restored to its original appearance |
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