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 The inside of the sanctuary in the middle of the 1800 in a drawing by Marco Moro. Mantova, Public library. |
The Jubilee of 2000 marked the occasion for renovating the Sanctuary. After centuries of negligence the wooden joists alongside the aisle were finally given new life with the restoration work carried out by "Sebastiano Genovesi Restorers" of Porto Mantovano. The work was undertaken by the owner of the company of the same name and his brother, Alessandro, together with the firm's entire work force. This important project was sponsored by
Lubiam.
Today the Grazie can now be seen in its true and original form. "Unknown" paintings and new colours were discovered during the restoration and a new dating of the building was made. The greatest discovery was the splendid soap plates depicting religious figures inspired by Mantegna which were hidden under successive layers of later decorations. The figures were found under the first two arch spans on the left and crowning the second order of niches. The discovery allowed a more precise dating of the joists. The quality of the paintings was high on the facade, but gradually depreciated moving down along the aisle. The use of colour is significant: warm luminous shades emerged on the highly expressive and detailed panels which were clearly strongly inspired by the later works of Mantegna.
This, however, was not the only discovery. The restores also discovered a series of plates placed lower down on the architrave over the niches of the first order, bearing Franciscan symbols painted on paper. These decorative elements had been hidden by successive works using a mixture of tempera and lime.
 The chapel of the Madonna inside the sanctuary at the beginning of 1900. |
In 1993, during the restoration work carried out by Dario Sanguanini, images of "copper angles" clearly inspired by Mantegna were found in the lowest part of the joists, covered by angels of a later date. Under these plates made from parchment others were found, made from paper embossed with a different rime. It was asked if this might be the oldest part of the sanctuary although this hypothesis was discounted immediately since the restorers confirmed that the structure is homogeneous. It is more likely that the original decorative works initiated in the early part of the 15th century were interrupted and continued and completed at a later date using a new iconography.
Furthermore, the restorers did not find traces of paintings on the parameter wall behind the joists. The church was probably bare of any decorative elements until the early 15th century. The special decorations in wood were used to enrich the bare walls of the church and to hold the numerous statues that were once tied along the walls. Sebastiano Genovesi reminds us that the "Pompei" red used on the joists dates to a later period than the niches next to the apse which are painted in a different shade of pink. Here the pigment appears blackened. The same phenomenon was seen on the statues which presented a brownish tinted crust. On more careful inspection it emerged that the damage was not entirely due to the small fire of the 1930's: the wood in the joists next to the apse have neither been burnt nor overheated. If the statues had been subjected to fire then they would have melted completely. The effects of the flames only partially explain the present state of the structure. Another hypothesis was put forward: maybe the cause of the damage seen along the entire length of the aisle which becomes more intense towards the apse was substantially due to the heat generated by the projectors used during the shooting of the film "Novecento". This hypothesis appears to be more plausible and unfortunately serves to emphasise the categorical rule that prevention is the best protection of our heritage.
Paolo Bertelli
