2023-05-04 13:36:02
The ‘Madonna and Child’, known to most as the ‘Madonna del Parto’, by Jacopo Sansovino returns to its former glory thanks to bio-restoration, a technique that uses bacteria that ‘eat’ the dirt without affecting the marble of the sculpture. The work, which is located in the Basilica of Sant’Agostino in Campo Marzio in Rome, was restored by the Special Superintendency of Rome thanks to funding from Intesa Sanpaolo. The Madonna del Parto still retains a powerful devotional character today due to its link with motherhood, but too much love from the faithful had accelerated its deterioration and therefore restoration was necessary: waxes, fumes, oils, scratches and abrasions they had greatly compromised the marble by ruining and staining it.
“A work of art very dear to the towns because it is visited by hundreds of mothers and pregnant women who are unable to have children – says the special superintendent Daniela Porro – It has been restored thanks to an innovative technique implemented by the Enea Oem laboratory “. “During the nineteenth century there was an exploit of the Marian cult due to Pope Pius VII Chiaramonti who instituted the cult with the granting of the indulgence to women and men who kissed the foot of the statue reciting the Ave Maria – explains Ilaria Sgarbozza, construction director of the Superintendence – In the first half of the twentieth century, the left foot worn out by use was replaced with one in silver foil”.
Not only that, the statue was also ruined by the lighting of candles, lights and lamps at all hours of the day and night. “In the 1950s, the Madonna and child were crowned with metal crowns added to the other objects that surrounded them – says Sgarbozza – In 1984, the work was completely covered in dirt and the first protective measures were taken”, how to contain the number of lit lamps or place a small container at the foot of the statue to collect the offerings.
Because of these invasive devotional practices, “the marble surface had brown-orange stains interpenetrating inside it”, explains the restorer and coordinator of the construction sites Anna Borzomati. It took six months of intervention in which diagnostic analyzes were made and we collaborated with chemists and biologists for the use of traditional methodologies, with the use of organic solvents by extraction, and innovative ones, with the use of cleaning agents of biological origin (bacteria).
The latter practice is called biorestoration and has existed since the 2000s. “We selected four types of microorganisms – Borzomati explained to time.news – which were incorporated in a polysaccharide gel and then applied, alternating between them and several times, on the surface to be treated”. The microorganisms ate the dirt on the work of art without affecting the material of which it is made and also protecting the health of the restorer. Then the incrustations on the gilding of the architectural and decorative score that frames the sculptural group were removed with the laser.
The scientific data of the preliminary investigations and a report of the restoration activities have been included in a 3D graphic documentation which will be available via a link on the Superintendence website. The restoration work is part of Intesa Sanpaolo’s Restitution programme. Since 1989 the bank has collaborated with ministerial bodies for the recovery of works of art. To date, over 2,000 have been returned to the community. In recent years, the Special Superintendency of Rome has carried out numerous restoration interventions in the Basilica of Sant’Agostino: on the nineteenth-century frescoes during the Covid, on the ‘Prophet Isaiah’ by Raphael, on the ‘Madonna di Loreto’ by Caravaggio which also enjoys a new lighting. The restoration of the Bongiovanni chapel with the cycle of paintings by Giovanni Lanfranco is expected shortly.
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