VENICE.- Save Venice is undertaking the restoration of four artworks in the church of San Geremia in Cannaregio that date from the 15th to 17th centuries. This important pilgrimage site houses the Sanctuary of Saint Lucy, whose relics were relocated here in 1861 when the nearby church of Santa Lucia was demolished to make way for Venice’s railway station. This hallowed complex features many notable artistic treasures, including Jacopo Palma il Giovane's altarpiece Madonna and Child in Glory with the Coronation of Venice by Saint Magnus, which was restored with funding from Save Venice in 2021.

Now, thanks to the generosity of Italian jeweler Pasquale Bruni, the restoration of Jacopo Palma il Giovane’s The Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary began last month. Save Venice extends its sincere thanks to Pasquale Bruni for their partnership as a corporate sponsor, whose investment directly supports our work to safeguard the artistic heritage of Venice.

The work originates from the church of Santa Lucia and depicts the “Expectatio Partus,” or the pregnant Virgin Mary waiting to give birth. Obscured by centuries of grime, dark oxidized varnish, and chromatically altered retouching from a past intervention, conservators Enrica Colombini and Sofia Marchesin are now working to address these issues to revive the legibility of the artist’s figures, details, and color palette.

Drawn from apocryphal sources, most notably the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew, Palma illustrates the dramatic and tender moment Mary seeks shelter in a dark place, “in which there never was light, but always darkness, because the light of day could not reach it. And when the blessed Mary had gone into it, it began to shine with as much brightness as if it were the sixth hour of the day. The light from God so shone in the cave, that neither by day nor night was light wanting as long as the blessed Mary was there. And there she brought forth a son, and the angels surrounded Him when He was being born.”

Thanks to the generous support of John H. Wilson III and Annasue McCleave Wilson, the restoration of a 15th-century wooden "Articulated Christ" will be completed by the end of the year. The sculpted Christ is very rare as it features movable arms and legs and a head that can recline and rotate. It typically rests on the second altar of the church’s left nave, and is revered by Venetian devotees as an acheropita meaning, “not crafted by human hands.” According to legend, the carving of this sculpture began with a Capuchin friar who entrusted its completion to a certain Fra’ Colombano Da Mula. Upon Fra’ Colombano’s return to finish the work, he found that Christ had miraculously completed the carving himself.

The sculpture likely arrived at the church of San Geremia in the early 1600s, where it performed numerous miracles, leading to the construction of an altar and the establishment of a confraternity to honor it. A century later, on the occasion of the 1700 Jubilee, the sculpture was transported to Rome where it was paraded before the pope. During the ceremonial procession, the sculpture, mounted on a “cross made of the finest crystal,” moved everyone who looked at it to tears.

Prior to conservation, the sculpture was covered in a non-original dark patina meant to look like bronze. Although it was believed to date to the 18th century, extensive scientific analysis revealed that this was added much more recently, likely around the 1950s. These investigations and trial cleaning also unveiled the original high-quality 15th-century painted decoration. Under the guidance of officials from the Venice branch of the Italian Ministry of Culture and the Patriarchal Diocese of Venice, conservator Milena Dean carefully removed the dark surface layer, revealing the refined flesh tones and details.

Funding from the Boston Chapter of Save Venice is supporting the treatment of two 16th-century paintings led by conservator Valentina Piovan. The small devotional works, Dead Christ Supported by an Angel and Saint John the Evangelist attributed to Polidoro da Lanciano, and Madonna and Child with Saint Andrew and the Infant John the Baptist attributed to Giovanni Galizzi, are meant to inspire contemplation and prayer. Although the authorship of both canvases has been widely debated, this conservation treatment and accompanying scientific analysis provide a valuable opportunity to examine both more closely and shed more light on their attributions.