Florence, Italy… Friends of Florence Foundation has completed the restoration of the early 14th century fresco known as the Madonna della Pura now on public view again in the chapel of the same name in the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella. The project was led by Andrea Vigna of Habilis Srl, working in conjunction with Paola Viviani and Stefania Franceschini under the supervision of the Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio per la città metropolitana di Firenze e le province di Pistoia e Prato, thanks to the generous support of Friends of Florence.
The Medieval work is closely associated with the spread of the veneration of the Virgin Mary promoted by the Dominican order. At the turn of the 14th century, the image depicting Mary, the Christ Child, and St. Catherine of Alexandria alongside the patron who commissioned the work was installed on the back wall of the Della Luna family tomb in the cemetery adjacent to the Basilica. Popular devotion grew when a reputed miracle occurred when children playing near the tomb said they witnessed an apparition of the Virgin, asking them to dust the image.
