Current Approaches, Solutions and Practices in Conservation of Cultural Heritage
The Restoration of the Frieze and Paintings Above the Fireplace in Riario’s Hall of Palazzo Gallo (Bagnaia, Viterbo, Italia)
Riccardo Vettraino, Valeria ValentiniThis essay is about the restoration work of the grotesque ornament’s frieze and the paintings above the fireplace in the Riario Room of Palazzo Gallo in Bagnaia, a hamlet near Viterbo (Italy). The frieze, located in the most exposed point of the room, was in a terrible state of conservation, and the elegant images of the early 1500s were barely visible due to numerous previous interventions and repeated manipulations. With this summary of the work done for my degree, I would like to focus on the various types of technical outcomes derived from the study of this masterpiece. The intervention witnesses the contest of the commitment and the taste of the artist in Viterbo between the 15th and 16th centuries. The dating of the painting has been investigated by comparing them with similar ones. The procedures used in the creation of the artifact, as well as the characteristics of the materials and the different methods used in their application, have been analyzed in depth. By focusing on the past conservative actions and tampering, this work determines that the state of preservation has been illustrated from the preparatory layers to the pictorial film. Moreover, the diagnostic techniques used in support have been reported in conjunction with the description of the restoration intervention. Therefore, this work is the result of an interdisciplinary collaboration between art historians, restorers, and technical diagnosticians, the latter being critical in the development of scientific inquiries, both traditional and cutting-edge, such as pulse compression thermography and hypercolotimetric multispectral imaging.