[MR] History Blog: Organ Restoration Uncovers Italian Frescoes

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends,

Today the History Blog reports on the restoration of a 16th century church
pipe organ, and the discovery of adjacent wall paintings hidden under
whitewash.

The church in question is the 11th century Duomo Vecchio in Brescia, Italy,
the only remaining Romanesque circular cathedral in Italy.

The Duomo's magnificent pipe organ was added in 1536 by Gian Giacomo
Antegnati. It is claimed to be the most complete Antegnati organ in Italy.
The case was carved by noted sculptor Giovanni Piantavigna. After almost
500 years, the organ was in poor condition. Last overhauled in the 19th
century, the organ's pipes were suffering from corrosion known
euphemistically as "tin cancer", and many of the seals and bellows were
leaking badly. That has all been fixed now, and the organ is fully restored.

Some of the organ's pipes (those displayed above the console) were closed
by two gigantic doors when not in use. The doors were painted in 1539
by Girolamo
da Romano (aka "Romanio"). In the closed position, the painting depicted
the Marriage of the Virgin. When open the then-separated back panels showed
the Birth of Mary on the left, and the Visit to Elizabeth on the right. The
doors were removed in the early 19th century and displayed as paintings in
the adjacent replacement cathedral, the Duomo Nuova. They have now been
restored to their proper place.

Not content with just painting doors, Romanio continued the Marriage of the
Virgin onto the adjacent walls, painting a dozen additional figures, most
playing musical instruments. When the doors were removed these figures were
whitewashed over. Now fully restored, the complete composition is again
visible in all its glory. There are three "bystander" figures among the
musicians, believed to represent Antegnati, Piantavigna and
Romanio himself, watching over their creations down through the ages.

The story is found at https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/72467 .

More about the cathedral(s) is at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Cathedral,_Brescia , and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Cathedral,_Brescia .

Yours Aye,

Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆
Continuing a crusade to keep the original Merry Rose relevant and in
business.