The Messenger: damaged crucifix at San Marcello al Corso. Rain allegedly swelled the wood

It was not a good idea to display the San Marcello al Corso Crucifix in the pouring rain that was falling on Rome the day before yesterday, Friday, March 27: images of Pope Francis’ urbi et orbi blessing, after all, showed us that the 14th-century sculpture was exposed to water and, in some close-ups, the drops could be seen unmistakably scratching the body of Christ hanging on the cross. It is a work from the 1470s(we told its story), and according to today’s Messenger, exposure in the rain would have caused serious damage to the sculpture.

“Almost two hours under water swelled the centuries-old wood,” reads the article signed by Franca Giansoldati. “The stuccoes in several places were blown off, as were parts of the light antique varnish, in some sections then the tempera used by the anonymous artist to draw the blood gushing from the side came loose, rippled the worked wooden surface on the hair, and ruined some details on the arms. The damage is being assessed, which is why the statue was reportedly rushed to the Vatican where reconstruction and restoration laboratories are on hand. Apparently, it did not occur to anyone yesterday afternoon that such a piece of antiques could be altered under the storm. And now there are those who wonder why the ancient crucifix was not placed elsewhere, protected perhaps under the large papal canopy, sheltered from the driving rain. It would have taken up little space, close to the pew on which Pope Francis sat.”

No comment seems to have come from the Vatican on the matter, and from the Italian state either, since the San Marcello al Corso Crucifix is a state-owned work, protected by the Interior Ministry’s Fondo Edifici di Culto, to which the church on Via del Corso belongs along with all its heritage.

“The malignant,” Giansoldati reports, “claim that the decision to abandon the miraculous crucifix to the elements came from the head of liturgical ceremonies, Monsignor Guido Marini, in order to be able to leave the essential choreography intact: the Pope alone under the illuminated canopy, in the parvis, without anything else.” But whoever is to blame, we now find ourselves with a work that would have suffered major damage, because it’s as if someone had thrown buckets of water at it, and of course everyone knows how much damage moisture can do to wood, especially old wood. Now it will be a matter of assessing what happened and, if the damage is extensive, understanding whether it will be possible to recover the work, and how much it will cost to do so. When it was enough simply to put it under shelter.

The Messenger: damaged crucifix at San Marcello al Corso. Rain allegedly swelled the wood

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