Un infinito plauso al complesso lavoro, durato oltre 18 anni, dell'organizzazione Save Venice che ha sostenuto il restauro completo della meravigliosa chiesa rinascimentale di San Sebastiano a Venezia, interamente affrescata da Paolo Veronese.
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After nearly eighteen years of meticulous conservation of practically every element of the 16th-century church of San Sebastiano, Save Venice, the American non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the art and architecture of Venice, is proud to announce the restoration project’s completion. Between 1555 and 1570, Renaissance Master Paolo Veronese painted decorations throughout the interior, including the ceiling, altarpieces and many other oil paintings on canvas, extensive frescoes, and the organ loft.
Save Venice’s involvement stretched from the first investigations in 2006 of potential damage in the wooden ceiling to the conservation of the chapels on either side of the presbytery in 2024. The architecture, sculpture, and paintings once again possess a clarity and beauty that the original artists, patrons, and worshippers would recognize. The total conservation campaign took some eighteen years, even longer than the approximately fifteen years Veronese needed to execute his pictures. Such an extensive restoration was required given the complexity of the individual treatments in varied media and the wish to keep as much of the church open to the public as possible while work was underway. San Sebastiano is, of course, a functioning church.
Save Venice financed the restoration with 3.8 million USD. Of that amount, nearly two million USD came from more than one hundred individual donors. The major benefactors were Richard K. and Nancy Riess and Beatrice de Santo Domingo, Alejandro Santo Domingo, and Andrés Santo Domingo, as well as an anonymous donor.
The project was undertaken in collaboration with the Venice branch of the Ministry of Culture (Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio per il Comune di Venezia e Laguna) and the Catholic Diocese of Venice (Diocesi Patriarcato di Venezia). Nearly two dozen restoration firms carried out the conservation treatments including Arlango di Egidio Arlango; CBC Conservazione Beni Culturali; Co.New Tech di Fabrizio Benvenuti; Mauve; and UNISVE.
