Preserved plaster and exterior frescoes in Venice

Although the architects' awareness has increased continuously over the years, preserved historic frescoes and plasters today do not automatically get the treatment that is historically right and necessary. The mutilation of the valuable gothic exterior frescoes on the eastern and southern façade of Palazzo Gritti Badoer on the Campo Bandiera e Moro is the most scaring example of a totally failed restoration campaign and futile vandalism even in the 21st century. But counter-examples do exist: the restoration of Palazzo Bernardo "di Canal", where, with participation of the so-called Bauforschung, gothic polychrome plaster surfaces under the eaves were conserved. The research results were also exemplarily published. ¹
Unfortunately is has become custom to apply thick modern refurbishment plasters on façades where no old plaster can be found. The results are aesthetically disturbing: parts in istrian limestone being drowned in layers of refurbishment plaster with a thickness up to ten centimetres. According to experience, these modern plasters are not durable in the venetian microclimate. Contrarily, thin and hard lime plasters, like those used during the restoration campaign of Andrea Palladio's Accademia building in the 1980s, are still in an excellent state today. Often ground and water floors are not plastered today - a fatal decision, as the salt accumulated in the brickwork can not dissipate. Instead, a regularly renewed lime plaster should be used. This method is well known to the elite of italian restorers. ²
Venice has always been a polychrome city. Thin gothic plasters, often with geometric and/or floral patterns in red, green and yellow, are visible on old paintings like the "Healing of a Madman" by Carpaccio. Some of those plasters, like the large surfaces of the never restored 15th century courtyard of Palazzo van Axel are still conserved. Early renaissance palaces had painted façades as well, but geometric patterns were superseded by painted allegories and histories. In comparison to stone incrustations, frescoes had a lower rank in the hierarchy of material: the german merchants were not allowed to use incrustations on the façade of the Fondaco dei Tedeschi near the rialto bridge, but instead charged Titian and Giorgione with frescoes. Other prominent examples of frescoed palace façades are palazzi d'Anna, Trevisan and Sangiantoffetti - alas, in all three cases, nothing has survived. The frescoes by Camillo Ballini on the Canal Grande façade of Palazzo Barbarigo and those by Tintoretto on Palazzo Gussoni were recently well restored.

Images

Castello 6058	Castello 6058	Palazzo Amadi	Palazzo Cappello a S. G. Laterano
Palazzo Cocco Molin	Palazzo Cocco Molin	Palazzo N.N. ai Carmini	Palazzo N.N. ai Carmini
Palazzo Gritti Badoer, 2003	Palazzo Gritti Badoer, 2003	Palazzo Gritti Badoer, 2003	Palazzo Gritti Badoer, 2003
Palazzo Gritti Badoer, 2005	Palazzo van Axel	Palazzo Tiepolo Passi	Palazzo Barbarigo alla Maddalena
Palazzo Venier	Palazzo Contarini Fasan	Palazzo Pesaro Fortuny	house on the Giudecca
Ca'Foscari	Ca'Foscari	Palazzo Zorzi/UNESCO	Palazzo Zorzi/UNESCO

Notes