Six years without Sancarlùn’s ‘teleri’ – the major restoration begins

No canvases for the Sancarlùn, but that’s not bad news. For the first time, the famous canvases will not be displayed, as is the Ambrosian tradition, along the aisles of the Duomo from 4 November – which is, in fact, the Solemnity of St Charles – until Epiphany. From this year onwards, there will be no ‘special operation’ to unroll the 26 canvases from their storage area, which is situated up there in the sacristy in the north-east corner of the cathedral. We will no longer see them all come down together for six consecutive years, and saying that is rather striking. But the Fabbrica del Duomo is accustomed to taking its time: it favours care over haste. For this Advent, in agreement with the cathedral chapter (and the Superintendency), it is presenting the city with a monumental restoration project: the ‘grand theatre’ of San Carlo, one of the most iconic pictorial cycles of 17th-century Lombardy, dedicated to the life and miracles of the ‘father of the poor’, is to be completely restored. The initial work began quietly last summer, but the study and analysis of the condition of the canvases, as Elisa Mantia, coordinator of the cultural department at the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo, tells Il Foglio, had already begun in 2019.

Even though we have seen them displayed along the central nave a thousand times, it is only when observing them up close, laid out on the floor, that they appear in all their grandeur. They are monumental canvases painted in casein tempera (a detail of no small importance, as Roberta Grazioli, restorer and coordinator of the entire restoration project, explains, since the canvases were painted with a quick-drying paint, suitable for drying rapidly): the first twenty were painted between 1602 and 1604, the others over the course of the century. It was the Veneranda Fabbrica that selected the artists for the project, providing them with the standard dimensions for each work (cm per canvas): the leading talents of Lombard painting of the time, from Cerano to Procaccini, adhered to the dictates of Cardinal Federico Borromeo’s (Charles’s cousin) De Pictura, according to which art was to be didactic and realistic, capable of capturing the eye and the heart. The canvases of San Carlo thus formed a veritable liturgical theatre (today we would call it an immersive set design) along the aisles of the Duomo. And just imagine, say Mantia and Grazioli, that they were once fixed in place with simple nails, almost like posters for the enjoyment of the faithful.

The restoration project requires time and money (the investment amounts to around three million euros, with the support of Intesa Sanpaolo being crucial), and speaks volumes about the ‘Veneranda Fabbrica method’ at its best. It all began, it was said, with the preliminary diagnostic analyses which highlighted various issues. After all, the works have been subjected to movement and stress for centuries, not to mention the fluctuations in humidity and temperature experienced in a cathedral such as ours, which welcomes an average of ten thousand tourists a day. How, indeed where, should such a monumental restoration be carried out? With pragmatism, the Veneranda Fabbrica organised a restricted tender involving eight specialist firms and selected two (a side note, but one that helps illustrate how things can be done properly: for the occasion, two ATIs – which stands for Temporary Business Associations – were formed, the first comprising Chiappa and Didonè Restauri and the other led by Anna Lucchini with Lorenzo Conti). At this stage, with the two teams ready, the Veneranda ‘looked inwards’ and decided to set up two large workshops on the premises of the Cantiere Marmisti in Via Brunetti, in the Certosa area. There, every day, craftsmen, sculptors, stonemasons and skilled workers repair and restore our Cathedral using blocks of marble sourced from the quarries of Candoglia.

Amidst the clatter of milling machines and the comings and goings of forklift trucks, we watched the expert restorers’ hands at work on the first two canvases: one team ‘treating’ the reverse side of Filippo Abbiati’s "The Solemn Entry of Saint Charles into Milan" (dated circa 1680), whilst another worked on the front of the "Cerano" canvas (depicting Saint Charles selling the principality of Oria, dated 1602). In all likelihood, they will be ready by January and, as Elisa Mantia reveals to Il Foglio, the plan is to exhibit them in the Duomo, even if ‘out of season’, precisely to showcase the work in progress. The canvases will be fitted with a frame designed specifically for the occasion: made of aluminium, with a double-spring system designed to cushion the tension on the canvas during future lowering each Advent and the subsequent rolling up, it will minimise the stress on the tempera, thanks also to the experimental use of high-performance technical fabrics. We have handled these new fabrics and had a sneak preview of the frame design (which will be black, though this will not be noticeable from the naves): restoration is a fascinating discipline, involving study and patience, research and the discovery of new techniques.

Once again, the Veneranda Fabbrica sets an example: as engineer Francesco Canali – known in the trade as ‘the architect of the Duomo’, that is, the director of works at the Veneranda Fabbrica – once told us, ‘here we think on the scale of a cathedral’. We do not look to tomorrow, but to the centuries to come.