The restoration project of Banksy’s work The Migrant Child, one of the few interventions by the British artist recognized on Italian soil, has officially started. The work, created in May 2019 on the facade of the sixteenth-century Palazzo San Pantalon in Venice, will undergo conservation and safety work starting June 17, 2025. This was confirmed by Banca Ifis, which also announced the imminent start of rehabilitation work on the entire building, which is now in a state of neglect. The conservative restoration of the work will be entrusted to Federico Borgogni, a restorer with experience in treating murals created by Banksy himself. Borgogni has previously been involved in the protection of works by the street artist, working in urban contexts and on particularly delicate wall surfaces. Securing The Migrant Child will take about a month, after which more extensive work will begin on the building’s entire structure.
Palazzo San Pantalon, located in the Santa Croce sestiere, is an example of pre-19th-century Venetian construction. Documented as far back as the 1500s thanks to Jacopo de Barbari’s plan, the palace has three levels and features a water gate connecting the building to the Rio di Ca’ Foscari and Rio Novo canals. The building, with an internal surface area of about 400 square meters, has been uninhabited for years, ending up in such a degraded condition that urgent intervention is needed to ensure its structural safety.
Banksy’s wall work appeared during the night of May 8-9, 2019. The subject depicted is a child with his feet submerged in the water of the Venetian Lagoon. The young castaway is portrayed seeking help while wielding a posing flashlight, whose light is rendered in a fuchsia hue. The drawing represents a symbolic denunciation of the issue of migration and humanitarian emergency on the seas. The Migrant Child is one of only two works signed by Banksy and officially confirmed by the artist in Italy. Taking over ownership of the Palazzo was Banca Ifis, which decided to acquire the property in 2024 in response to an appeal from the Ministry of Culture. The goal was to return the palace to the city of Venice, promoting its new public and cultural function. The project is part of Ifis art, an initiative promoted by Ernesto Fürstenberg Fassio, president of the bank, with the intention of contributing to the preservation and enhancement of the national artistic and architectural heritage through shared public-private projects.
To ensure a high quality approach to the redevelopment of the building, Banca Ifis launched an international competition involving some of the best-known architectural firms. The competition was won by Zaha Hadid Architects, which proposed a project capable of combining respect for the historic structure of the building with contemporary architectural solutions. The design and work coordination activities will be carried out with the support of Th&Ma Architettura, engineer Davide Sabbadin and engineer Alessandro Gasparini. The construction site, according to the bank’s announcement, will be set up starting next Tuesday, June 17, with the assembly of scaffolding on the facade. The first activities, which began as early as June 3, are preparatory in nature and include technical analyses, surveys and preliminary assessments of the state of conservation of the building and masonry work.
The restoration project for Palazzo San Pantalon was shared with the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, the City of Venice and the Veneto Region. According to the promoters, the intervention aims to return the palace to an active function in the Venetian cultural context, hosting exhibitions and artistic activities, with a focus on the young contemporary scene, both Italian and international. Looking forward, the building will become an exhibition space in dialogue with the Venice Biennale. The intervention by Zaha Hadid Architects, in line with the design philosophy of the firm founded by the Anglo-Iraqi architect, aims to introduce innovative elements without compromising the historical integrity of the building. The stated intention is to enhance the existing structure while preserving its distinctive features, but also to provide new exhibition spaces capable of hosting temporary events and artistic initiatives.
At the end of the restoration, expected in the coming months, Palazzo San Pantalon will be able to return to play an active role in the Venetian cultural scene, offering a new venue for temporary exhibitions, art projects and popular activities, particularly dedicated to the new generations. The presence of Banksy’s work, although fixed in its original location, may become a starting point for broader reflections on art, urban memory and the transformations of the contemporary cultural landscape.
 |
| Restoration for Banksy in Venice: Banca Ifis recovers work and redevelops Palazzo San Pantalon |
Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.
