Roma

Naples, S. Aniello in Caponapoli Church, Major Altar

DATA SHEET

AUTHOR:

Girolamo Santacroce

DATING:

First half of XVI century.

LOCATION:

Naples, S.Aniello in Caponapoli Church

CUSTOMER:

Superintendence for the Environmental, Architectural, Landscape, Historical, Artistic and demo-anthropological Heritages of Naples – Arch. Ugo Carughi, Dr. Angela Schiattarella

SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT:

Superintendency for the Museum Pole of Naples – Dr. Marina Santucci

THE PROBLEM

The restoration of the Major Altar, due to Girolamo Santacroce in the first half of the sixteenth century, completed the huge restoration work and real philological reconstruction operation which had prevent the church degradation and abandonment. Closed to the public since the postwar period, cause of the damages suffered in the bombing, it was emptied of every opera and was left in a neglect status prey to theft and vandalism.
Like all monuments and decors of the church, also the Major Altar was subjected  to serious theft and irreversible damages.

THE METHOD

The cleaning of the surfaces has brought to light the valuable work of Santacroce and did re-emerge minuscule details of the bas-relief.
The irretrievable loss of matter was not fully erased with the integration, but today a new order respectful of the conservation history allows to re-read the work homogeneity.

Since 2000 we began to cooperate with the Superintendency BAPSAE of Naples and with the Superintendency for the PSAE and for the Museums Pole of the city of Naples and the Royal Palace of Caserta in order to arrange the recomposition of the decorations through study, research and cataloging of fragments disorderly preserved inside the church.

FUTURE PERSPECTIVES

After the official presentation of the restoration and  the re-opening to the public, even though still partial, the R.O.M.A. CONSORZIO wants to draw attention to the history of this church being promoter and sole sponsor of an exhibition with installations by Vincenzo Rusciano. “Sponda” was handled by Angela Tecce (Superintendent for the Museum Pole of Calabria) and Alberto Zanchetta (director of the Lissone museum), by dr. Fabrizio Vona (Superintendent of the City Councils and the Museums pole of Naples), with the texts of the catalog curated by Marina Santucci (Superintendency for the PSAE and for the Museums of the city of Naples and the Royal Palace of Caserta), Daniela Giampaola ( Superintendency for Archaeological heritage of Naples), Ugo Carughi (BAPSAE Superintendency of Naples) and Giuseppe Giordano (ROME Consorzio).