LA CONSERVAZIONE DEGLI AFFRESCHI ALL’ APERTO:  IL CASO DELLA CHIESA DEL BATTUTI A VALERIANO (G.A. PORDENONE, 1524) 

Teresa Perusini

1  Dip.di Scienze Ambientali, Informatica e Statistica, Università Ca’ Foscari (Venezia), teresa.perusini@unive.it

ABSTRACT

The contribution deals with the theoretical and methodological aspects of outdoor mural painting conservation, beginning with the case study of the mural paintings of Pordenone (1524) on the façade of the Battuti church in Valeriano (Pordenone). Particularly analysed is the last restoration by the Friuli-Venezia Giulia’s Soprintendenza, after the earthquake in Friuli in 1976, with two restoration companies and the consultancy of ICR and OPD. The discussions surrounding the intervention have faced many of the critical situations that arise in such cases. The issues raised are dealt with while drawing comparisons with the debate of the time. There seems to be a clear shift in the conservation system from a static model to a dynamic one, from the conservation of the object to that of its context, from conservation as an intervention to conservation as prevention. In complex systems such as works of art and nature, there is also a constant need to limit interventions where it is almost impossible to predict their long-term effects. The cry for a holistic and non-reductionist approach are the fundamentals of the scientific theory of recent decades of which the impact on the conservation sector is still very much to be seen. Indeed, it is being discussed how the reasoning behind conservation often clashes with wide scale use by cultural tourism.

Key-words: mural painting conservation, contemporary theory of conservation