A study day on March 18 will reveal the history, the iconography, and the innovative tehnology behind the conservation and restoration of The Crucifixion by Francesco Traini.

Seventy years after being detached due to damage caused by the Second World War, the Crucifixion by Francesco Traini has returned to its place on the wall of the Camposanto in Piazza del Duomo in Pisa.
To celebrate and explore this milestone, the Opera della Primaziale Pisana has organized an afternoon of study open to the public, followed by a guided visit to the Camposanto.

Tuesday, March 18 – 5:00 pm
Auditorium of the Opera della Primaziale Pisana, Piazza Arcivescovado

The fresco, painted by Francesco Traini between 1330 and 1335 together with the cycle of the Stories of Christ after the Resurrection, marks the beginning of the pictorial decoration of the Camposanto: the first chapter of a visual program that would transform the Pisan monument into one of the most important centers of Italian painting in the fourteenth century. Severely damaged by the fire of 1944, the fresco was detached in 1955, divided into eighteen panels (the sinopia into eight), and mounted on eternit frames in 1960. Its relocation in situ, which took place in September 2005 after a long and complex restoration carried out by the workshops of the Opera della Primaziale Pisana, had already represented a moment of extraordinary significance for the city.

Now a further step has been taken. Following severe climatic events between the end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010, which highlighted the risk of condensation forming on the painted surfaces, the Opera developed and installed a system of rear-heated panels to prevent the phenomenon. The system, successfully tested during the relocation of the cycle by Buonamico Buffalmacco starting in 2014, is now being extended to the frescoes previously returned to the walls, beginning precisely with Traini’s Crucifixion.

The study day will feature two presentations. Marco Collareta, an art historian, will focus on this important example of Pisan fresco painting. Stefano Lupo, Head of the Restoration Department of the Opera, will instead illustrate the new conservation systems adopted, explaining the technical principles and the results achieved with the rear-heated panel system.

At the end of the presentations, participants will be accompanied on a free visit to the Camposanto to see the fresco directly within its restored context.