SCIENZA E BENI CULTURALI XXXII.2016

L’APPROCCIO METODOLOGICO NEL CANTIERE DI S. ANTONIO A PADOVA NELLA RILETTURA CRITICA DELLATTIVITÀ DI CAMILLO BOITO. ATTUALITÀ DI UN PENSIERO, CONTINUITÀ E DISCONTINUITÀ PASSATO-PRESENTE, ERESIA E ORTODOSSIA IN UN CANTIERE DI RESTAURO.

Cesare Crova Architetto -Ministero dei beni e delle attività culturali e del turismo -Istituto Superiore per la Conservazione e il Restauro, Roma -cesare.crova@beniculturali.it

ABSTRACT

Thanks to the vast archival collection housed in the Venerable Ark of St. Anthony in Padua, the great works carried out on the occasion of the centenary of Donatello by Camillo Boito can be critically examined. An analysis is made of his works, in relation to the theoretical thinking that determined the text of the Charter of Restoration in 1883; of coherence and discordance with the Maestro’s thought and accepted practices of the times; of his actual work and adherence to his theoretical concepts through an historical documentary analysis of the reports attached to the project. What comes to light is continuity and discontinuity with the philological vision of the restoration, expressed only theoretically and not always put into practice consistenlty, with restorations that are rigorously faithful to a philological ideology, and others that oppose this “conceptual truth”. The study of the documents is also the starting point for a contemporary reading of Boito’s thought and of continuity in the modern approach to restoration. Minimal intervention, distinctness, contemporary artistic relevance, reversibility are concepts that are still relevant today and can be applied to reflections about restoration. This is especially true in the use of modern and diverse materials, where technological innovation is important, with great attention to anti-seismic, environmental and system requirements, and to their compatibility with historical architecture. This is a discourse that is assuming greater significance in theoretical reflections and working practices in the conservation of historical buildings, landscape and environment.

Parole chiave/Key-words:

Camillo Boito, Padua, Heresy, Orthodoxy, Restoration.