Associazione Amici dei Musei, Lecco together with C.A.I Lecco, section“Riccardo Cassin” and with the support of the Lecco town council organised a tour of the Acquate Cemetry, Lecco.

Some texts written by the brothers Ernesto and Giovanni Pozzi were read by the actor Luigi Maniglia accompanied by the music of Luca Pedeferri (accordion).

An unusual parade in memory of Ernesto (1843-1904) and Giovanni (1850-1899), who were respectively a lawyer and a physician, but also important patriots and alpinists of the Italian unification – nowadays almost forgotten.

This ceremony – as the spokesperson of the Lecco town council Mr Mario Moschetti underlined – is the starting point for the restoration of the Neo-Gothic architectures and sculptures of the 19^th century that are in the cemetery, which is part of a wider project to safeguard the city cemeteries that in 2010 became part of the European Cemeteries Route.

The President of Amici dei Musei Tiziana Rota adds: Cemeteries are once more a place where the historical memory of the city is preserved, besides artistically manufactured work pieces. The restoration could be the occasion to analyse a piece of our city’s history.

In collaboration with the company Systems Line, a leaflet about the two brothers was printed and distributed. Unita nelle Arti pdf

The Lucia Vanghi restoration laboratory, in Bologna, was entrusted with the actual restoration.

The fresco was painted by Bartolomeo Cesi (1556-1629) towards the end of the 16^th century, and it depicts the Madonna with the Child, S. Giovannino (the Infant Saint John) and the Saints Bruno and Girolamo and it is, together with the ‘painted corridor’, the only surviving ‘element’ of the decorations of the Carthusian monastery founded in 1334. As a matter of fact, after being transformed into a cemetery in 1801, the great majority of the decorations and the original ecclesiastic structures have been progressively demolished or largely re-arranged. For instance, of the 16^th-17^th period, only the San Girolamo church remains, an almost intact vestige of the past wealth and a veritable ‘catalogue’ of the Bologna painting of those years.

The fresco is framed in a large curved altarpiece, a later addition, which modifies the original size of the composition. In the mezzo-fresco laying, with the figures engraved on the plaster, seven giornata parts have been identified.

The work state of preservation prior to the restoration was appalling, both from a structural and aesthetic point of view: the considerable plaster detachments in the upper portion, the presence of major vertical cracks, the previous modifications and the redoing due to alterations and fixatives, made the overall interpretation rather confused and raised doubts on the actual size of the original work.

The strengthening and re-attachment of large parts of plaster, in particular in the upper portion, were the most urgent operations to perform. The general cleansing, i.e. the progressive reduction of the old, superficial and altered fixatives, highlighted, in the left upper part, plaster line-engravings, which were barely visible before, that can now be interpreted as curtains folds, possibly belonging to the original work.

These first few operations allowed establishing that, luckily, the pictorial laying was in fairly good conditions, with the exception of some sections, such as the lion area and the upper part of the column.

Once the cleansing was completed and the main gaps filled, the pictorial harmonization was performed: although the intention was to restore the scene readability and completeness, the decision was taken to avoid superimposing on the signs of time, to the detriment of the quality of the original laying.

At the end of the restoration, the fresco has been placed in the so-called Weber Room, originally Sala della Foresteria del Monastero (the hall of the guest quarters of the Monastery), later the office of the Cemetery Custodian, then the Hall of the old monuments. The present name is due to the creation of a monument to the industrialist Edoardo Weber, in 1957.

These premises also hosted another fresco by Cesi, I tre fanciulli nella fornace di Babilonia, presently at the Collezioni Comunali d’Arte.

Please go to the following links for further information:

- the biography of the painter Bartolomeo Cesi (featuring over 40 images)

http://certosa.cup2000.it/chiostro/persone.php?ID=483997

- information and photographs on the rooms where the fresco is located

http://certosa.cup2000.it/chiostro/luoghi.php?ID=1967

- information on the Certosa enhancement and promotion activities:

www.comune.bologna.it/cultura

———-
Èxit de convocatòria a la ruta Nocturna del Cementiri de Poblenou, al voltant de 600 persones van gaudir d’un passeig nocturn pel cementiri, amenitzat amb música clàssica i l’actuació en directe del Carlit Gospel Choir. A l’acte va comptar amb la presència del president de Cementiris de Barcelona i regidor de Medi Ambient i Sarrià-Sant Gervasi de l’Ajuntament de Barcelona, Joan Puigdollers, i el director general de l’entitat, Jordi Valmaña.

The event was possible thanks to the cooperation between Bologna and “Amici dei Musei di Lecco”.

More information in the documents below.

On 30th October and 1st November, the association PODGORZE.PL together with Obywatelski Komitet Ratowania Krakowa
[Citizens' Committee for the Protection of Krakow] will organise a public collection in the New Podgorze Cemetery in Krakow. The collection is organised on a voluntary basis and all funds collected will be spent on the renovation of tombstones in the New Podgorze Cemetery. Similar events have been organised for the past six years around All Saints’ Day, and, since 2005, five tombstones have already undergone renovation. This year, the collection will take place both on Sunday 30th October and Tuesday 1st November between 10am and 6pm.

To navigate inside the model, users just need to access the site www.certosadibologna.it/museo_virtuale/museo_virtuale.html and download a free player (i.e. the required display system), only the first time.

The model is not a simple virtual three-d reconstruction of the Church, as it allows moving freely and fully in a faithfully reconstructed environment – stopping whenever one feels like doing it and turn one’s own eyes in any direction – without being a passive visitor, having to experience, like in a film, the ‘director’s’ choices.

With this type of 3D model, navigable in real time, users decide what to frame and what to linger on: the church becomes a sort of 3 dimension interactive ‘multimedia space’.

In addition to the possibility of moving in a virtual space, users can enjoy a dynamic interaction with the contents: they can indeed click on ‘sensitive spots’ and gain access to in-depth explanations, images and multimedia contributions on the paintings, the sculptures and the other works of art in the church.

Therefore, by connecting to the 3D model, users will feel as if they were really inside the church that, founded in 1334 as the material and ideological heart of the Carthusian monastery it was part of, is nowadays the artistic ‘temple’ of Bologna sixteenth and sev-enteenth centuries.

Among the most significant examples of this period, one could mention the pictorial and stucco-work decoration of the presbytery, by Bartolomeo Cesi (1566-1629) – possibly dating back to the end of the last decade of sixteenth century – and the furniture, for in-stance the magnificent inlaid choir, dating back to 1539, by Biagio De Marchi.
Also worth a mention, the large cycle of paintings on various episodes of the life of Christ, all along the church walls.

The large canvasses, measuring about 450×350 cm, were commissioned around mid-seventeenth century, involving the most relevant Bologna painters, such as the two Sirani, Giovan Andrea and his daughter Elisabetta, Giovan Francesco Gessi, Giovanni Maria Galli Bibiena, Lorenzo Pasinelli, Domenico Maria Canuti and the Neapolitan Nunzio Rossi.

By simply double-clicking on the images of all these works, and of those present in the Annunziata, Reliquie and San Giuseppe side chapels – that were added to the single nave of the church, starting from 1349 – it is possible to access in-depth explanations, con-tained in the model.

The explanations also feature a wide selection of images of other works kept in various Bologna museums, by the same authors, together with their detailed biographies.
Over the next few weeks, biographical information on Ludovico Carraci, Guercino, Giuseppe Maria Crespi will be added, thus becoming, together with the already present material, the most important online database on Bologna art and history.

How was the 3D model developed?

The first step consisted in the collection of all the material concerning the church, from the plans to the photos, from the historical evidence to the paper material, followed by an extensive on site photographic campaign.
The three-dimensional computerized reconstruction itself has been developed by merging all these data.
Then additional graphic elements (such as light and shade effects) were applied to the 3D model, with the aim of making it more realistic and ‘faithful’ to the original site.

The 3D model of the Certosa San Girolamo Church has been developed in collaboration with:

 Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna, Drawings and prints room
 Photographs archives of the Bologna historical and artistic heritage Commission
 Musei Civici d’Arte Antica del Comune di Bologna
 Museo Civico Archeologico del Comune di Bologna
 MAMbo – Museo d’Arte Moderna di Bologna, Historical collections
 Historical archives of the Municipality of Bologna
 Bologna Academy of Art
 Padri Passionisti di Bologna
 Antiche Stampe Gallery, Bologna
 De’ Fusari Gallery, Bologna
 Art and History Collection of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio in Bologna

With the contribution of the Associazione Amici della Certosa.

Info: www.comune.bologna.it/cultura
  

Take a look at the programme attached herein for further details.

Agenda: diumenge 30 d’octubre

La història dels ‘americanos’ a

través de les tombes

SFI proposa dos recorreguts pel diumenge previ a Tots Sants:

“L’ànima artística del cementiri”, al cementiri de Vilanova i la Geltrú

“Ruta de les ànimes: Sitges i Mèxic”, al cementiri de Sant Sebastià de Sitges

• Activitats: recorreguts guiats per dos cementiris modernistes: el de Vilanova i la Geltrú i el de Sant Sebastià de Sitges. Aquests gaudeixen d’un elevat interès històric, artístic i cultural gràcies als personatges cèlebres que hi estan enterrats i a l’obra d’importants arquitectes i escultors que van deixar el seu rastre en les monumentals tombes dels americanos. A la ruta de Sitges d’enguany es farà també una explicació de les tradicions funeràries de Mèxic i els assistents podran tastar una galeta en forma de flor elaborada especialment per a la ruta: una “fusió” entre els dolços que típicament porten els mexicans als seus morts i les flors que per tradició s’ofereixen a Catalunya.

• Organitza: Serveis Funeraris Integrals

• Dia:

• o Diumenge 30:

“L’ànima artística del cementiri” (Cementiri Municipal de Vilanova ila Geltrú)

“Ruta de les ànimes: Sitges i Mèxic” (Cementiri Municipal de Sant Sebastià, Sitges)

• Horari: de12.00 a 13.30 hores.

• Punt de trobada: entrada principal del cementiri.

• Adreces:
• Cementiri Municipal de Vilanova ila Geltrú: C/ de la Vilanoveta, 12.
• Cementiri Municipal de Sant Sebastià, Sitges: Av. Balmins s/n.

• Preu: les dues visites són gratuïtes. S’ha de confirmar assistència prèvia als telèfons següents:
• “L’ànima artística del cementiri” (Vilanova): 619 337 584 (Tessel·la)
• “Ruta de les ànimes” (Sitges): 619 793 199 (Agisitges)

• Data límit d’inscripció: dissabte 29 d’octubre.

El diumenge de Tot Sants, Serveis Funeraris Integrals (SFI) organitza dues rutes especials que recorren la història i l’art de dos dels cementiris més emblemàtics del Garraf: Vilanova i la Geltrú i Sant Sebastià de Sitges.

Vilanova i la Geltrú – L’ànima artística del cementiri

El recorregut “L’ànima artística del cementiri” visitarà les tombes d’alguns dels personatges més cèlebres de la capital del Garraf enterrats en aquest cementiri. Escriptors com Víctor Balaguer i Manuel de Cabanyes, el pintor Joaquim Mir o el polític i empresari Francesc Gumà, que va participar en diversos negocis ferroviaris i bancaris de mitjans del segle XIX i primers del XX, en són alguns exemples. Algunes d’aquestes tombes són obra d’importants arquitectes de l’època com Bonaventura Pollés o Domènech Estapà.

Sitges – Ruta de les ànimes

D’altra banda, la “Ruta de les ànimes” tindrà lloc al Cementiri Municipal de Sant Sebastià, on s’hi trobem sepultures que són veritables obres d’art del modernisme català. Aquestes tombes pertanyen als americanos o indianos, famílies que el segle XIX van partir a fer fortuna a Amèrica. En aquest sentit, la ruta per Sant Sebastià descobrirà un dels patrimonis monumentals funeraris més rellevants d’aquells temps i fins a primers del segle XX, amb obres d’escultors com Josep Llimona, Frederic Marès, Manuel Fuxà, Agapit Vallmitjana, Alexandre Mariotti o Pere Jou, entre altres arquitectes reconeguts. El recorregut també destacarà, a banda dels americanos, altres personatges il·lustres de Sitges enterrats al mateix municipi. A més a més, aquest any, la “Ruta de les ànimes” es vol apropar a Mèxic i, a través d’un testimoni d’aquest país, compartir i conèixer les tradicions funeràries de l’altre cantó de l’Atlàntic. Els assistents podran degustar una galeta en forma de flor, elaborada especialment per a aquesta ruta i que fusiona el dolç típic que tradicionalment els mexicans ofereixen als seus difunts amb les flors que habitualment s’ofereixen als cementiris catalans.

Vilanova i Sant Sebastià, dos cementiris d’interès cultural i artístic

El seu valor històric, cultural i artístic ha fet que els cementiris de Vilanova i la Geltrú i Sant Sebastià de Sitges hagin entrat a formar part de l’ASCE (Association of Significant Cemeteries in Europe), una associació d’àmbit europeu que agrupa diversos cementiris d’interès cultural i històric de tot el continent.

Inaugurats el segle XIX (Sant Sebastià el 1814 i Vilanova el 1855), ambdós cementiris suposen un valuós testimoni de l’època modernista a la comarca del Garraf. Un temps en què diverses famílies d’aquestes poblacions van emigrar a fer negoci a Amèrica (coneguts com a americanos o indianos) i van tornar-ne enriquits. Mostra d’això són els ostentosos panteons que encara avui es poden visitar, obra dels més prestigiosos escultors del moment, com Josep Llimona, Domènech Estapà o Frederic Marès.

Serveis Funeraris Integrals (SFI) és el grup líder en la gestió de serveis funeraris, tanatoris i cementiris de la província de Barcelona. Amb més de 300 anys d’experiència en el sector funerari, SFI dóna cobertura actualment a 148 poblacions de Catalunya. Entre els tanatoris que gestiona cal destacar el Tanatori Ronda de Dalt, a Barcelona, el Tanatori Gran Via L’Hospitalet, el Tanatori de Sant Boi i diversos centres a les comarques del Garraf –Sitges i Vilanova i la Geltrú­­-, Penedès, Baix Llobregat i Alt Empordà. SFI gestiona també el Cementiri Comarcal Parc de Roques Blanques, a El Papiol, els Cementiris Municipals de Sant Sebastià i Les Pruelles, de Sitges, i el Cementiri Municipal de Vilanova i la Geltrú, entre altres.

On 30th October and 1st November, the association PODGORZE.PL together with Obywatelski Komitet Ratowania Krakowa [Citizens' Committee for the Protection of Krakow] will organise a public collection in the New Podgorze Cemetery in Krakow. The collection is organised on a voluntary basis and all funds collected will be spent on the renovation of tombstones in the New Podgorze Cemetery. Similar events have been organised for the past six years around All Saints’ Day, and, since 2005, five tombstones have already undergone renovation. This year, the collection will take place both on Sunday 30th October and Tuesday 1st November between 10am and 6pm.