The Restoration Conservation Centre ‘La Venaria Reale’ is engaged in a study, investigation and restoration project dedicated to a nucleus of illuminated choirs from the Certosa di Pavia, large-format liturgical volumes created between the end of the 15th and the second half of the 16th century and intended for collective use during solemn celebrations.
Their history
It is known from historical sources that two years after the suppression of the Order (1782), the manuscripts were transferred to the Brera Library, where they were requisitioned by the French and brought to Paris in 1796. With the fall of Napoleon and the Restoration they returned to Milan (1815), where they remained for just under seventy years: thanks to the intervention of the historian Carlo Magenta, in 1883 they were returned to the Certosa.
The intervention
The project, commissioned by Regional Directorate of National Museums Lombardy which currently manages the Monumental Complex and the Certosa Museum of Pavia, provides for an integrated diagnostic campaign and the restoration of nine choirs, accompanied by extraordinary maintenance work on the historic wooden furniture that preserves them. The activities, carried out in the Centre's laboratories, aim to deepen the knowledge of the materials and executive techniques, assess the state of conservation and define targeted and conscious interventions, respecting the original material.
In particular, choirs Nos 813, 814, 815, 816, 817, 818, 820, 823 and 824 are proposed for intervention. These are Gothic (or “monastic”) ligatures made of full leather blankets and wooden planks, decorated with dry impressions and a posthumous addition of gold-embossed titles. All parchment choirs are embellished with beautiful miniatures that highlight their executive sophistication.
The intervention is a coordinated study, conservation and prevention action aimed at ensuring the long-term protection of a library heritage of exceptional historical, artistic and cultural value.
CCR and accessibility
