Institutional portal - Municipality of Milan

The intervention of the Umbrian restorers, on a scaffolding over 40 meters high, will be visible from the ground. A year of work to save the works - Photo gallery

Milan, August 14 2022 – Work has started on the restoration of the frescoes of the civic Tempio di San Sebastiano, in via Torino 28, the church owned by the Municipality, unique in the city in its perfectly cylindrical domed shape, designed in 1576 by Pellegrino Tibaldi.

Scalpels, paints and brushes in hand, the restorers of the Umbrian company specialized in the domes of religious buildings in charge of the intervention began to work, suspended at more than 40 meters in the air, on the over one thousand square meters of pictorial works present above above the capitals inside the building.

In the year that will be needed for the works, faithful, art enthusiasts and tourists will still be able to enter the church during religious functions. The particular multidirectional scaffolding of over 2.000 mXNUMX, which allows movements in a round geometric shape, will be completely covered and covered: nothing will be seen from the benches, but the restoration can still be admired thanks to a projector that will allow those entering church to see the workers at work on a screen: “A restoration to watch and admire”, is the idea of ​​the architect Pasquale Francesco Mariani Orlandi, designer and director of the works, who coordinates the intervention for the State Property Technical Area and various municipal assets and for the Presidency of the Municipal Council.

An enhancement that begins with the restoration on site, but which can continue even after its conclusion with the screening of films dedicated to the history of the civic temple.

The works will involve friezes and frescoes that embellish the dome above the capitals, grayed by time and candle smoke. The statues, the gilding (in real gold and orone), the mosaic windows will also be cleaned and the lighting system will be renewed.

The restoration was preceded by an analysis of the state of the frescoes carried out with a drone and a laser scanner, which allowed a detailed mapping, a digital photograph of the works useful for understanding which methodology to intervene with and as a study for possible future interventions. A modus already used for the Lyric Theater and for the works of the Cinema Orchidea.

Preliminary studies have found that under the layer of inconsistent deposits the frescoes do not present particular material and chromatic alterations. Using selectivity and gradual criteria, we will proceed with the cleaning operations, first dry and then wet, then with the restoration of the surfaces, with the re-establishment of the adhesion of the paint film, the specific consolidations and the pictorial reintegration of the gaps and chromatic discontinuities.

The companies in charge of the work are specialized in particular scaffolding and in the recovery of the domes of religious buildings. These are workers who have already worked for the Municipality, from the Teatro alla Scala, for the restoration of the Towers of the Archaeological Museum and the spaces of the ancient hospital (Pietà Rondanini) at the Sforzesco Castle. 
One million euros has been allocated to carry out the works. The last partial recovery intervention dates back to 1952.