FLORENCE.- Bartolomeo della Gatta’s 15th-century panel painting of Saint Roch has been returned to the Museo Horne in Florence following a multifaceted restoration process. The restoration by Valeria Cocchetti and Daniele Ciappi, under the supervision of the Soprintendenza di Firenze, was made possible thanks to donations by Donna Curry, Mary Mochary, and Donato Massaro through the Friends of Florence Foundation.
“Once again, Friends of Florence has stepped up on behalf of our institution,” said Elisabetta Nardinocchi, director of the Museo Horne. “This time, the Foundation financed a restoration that was particularly complex because of the painting’s history and condition. Professor Antonio Paolucci, president of the Fondazione Horne, and I are deeply grateful. When our founder, Herbert Horne, purchased the work in 1909, he was fully aware of the many problems that time had inflicted on it, yet still considered it one of Bartolomeo della Gatta’s best paintings. We know he would have appreciated this effort that recovered the vibrancy of this beautiful portrait.”
“Working with the Horne to preserve its masterpieces is always a wonderful experience,” added Simonetta Brandolini d’Adda, president of Friends of Florence. “After the restoration of the Museum’s album of drawings by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo and other projects, the Saint Roch undertaking engaged us once again on behalf of the Fondazione Horne, an institution that is particularly dear to us because of our shared affinities to preserve Italian Renaissance treasures. I thank Elisabetta Nardinocchi for having involved us in the project; Valeria Cocchetti, her staff, and assistants who did the meticulous work, and our donors, because none of this would have been possible without their generosity.”
