Venice, in San Marco works for 3.3 million

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A Venetian company will be working on the restoration of the Basilica of San Marco from the next few days. 27 companies were invited to the tender: seven were selected and the winner (in a temporary grouping of companies with the restorer specialist in mosaic decorations Carla Tomasi) – for the total amount of 3.3 million euros – was RTI Lares Lavori di Restauro di Venezia which ensured the entire execution of the works over a period of two years and four months. This is a historic enterprise in the field of restoration in Venice, which in the past has followed other construction sites in the city.

On June 20, the presentation of the restoration works of the Basilica was held in the Sant’Apollonia Conference Room, which will see the start in the coming days thanks to a generous loan of 3.3 million euros obtained from the Ministry of Culture as part of the 2021 Strategic Plan -2023 “Great Cultural Heritage Projects” then assigned to the SABAP Superintendency of Venice and which for the first time saw the Procuratoria di San Marco as the contracting station.

The meeting was attended by the First Prosecutor of San Marco Carlo Alberto Tesserin, who, in streaming, brought his greetings, and gave the floor to the Procurator of San Marco Bruno Barel, the SABAP Superintendent of Venice Fabrizio Magani and the proto Mario Piana which gave an account of the types of restoration interventions.

Public Prosecutor Barel recalled the operational process which led to the award of the tender, thanking in particular all the parties involved precisely for the speed of the award. The Procuratoria di San Marco has accepted the challenge of being the contracting station for a significant amount of work. Also present in the room was the director of the Lares company – Mario Cherido, who signed the work assignment report. Superintendent Magani, during his speech, underlined how, with this restoration, we are going to intervene in the history of Venetian restoration thanks also to the historical documentation present in the archives of the basilica.

Safe from the waters

The square area is already the subject of other interventions, for example to repair the monument from high water. The Proto Mario Piana punctually presented the restoration interventions which will mainly affect the stone cladding of the north wing of the narthex – the atrium of the basilica – and the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament. The walls of the narthex had been heavily damaged by the saline crystallizations due to the frequent flooding: now this area is safe thanks to the temporary glass barrier that surrounds the Basilica and defends it from the flooding of the square even with water below 110 cm, measured in which the Mose will come into operation.