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| Lacuna repaired during previous
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Lacunas in
the preparatory layers or the plaster
There are not many lacunas of medium to large size
on the frescoed surfaces, and most of those that existed previously
seem to have been repaired during recent restoration work.
Broadly speaking, they are limited to the area of the end
wall and the chancel arch where it joins the roof vaulting.
Lacunas of small or minimum size, caused mainly by the detachment
of plaster fragments along the lesions or where there are
"bottaccioli", are present all over the painted
surfaces and only sometimes involve the depth of the preparatory
layers.
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Lacunas in
the paint film
Parts of the painted surface are lost when the plaster breaks
up and falls off; however, most lacunas in the paint film
occur in areas affected by crystallisation of soluble salts,
as well as in areas painted "a secco", especially
the azurite, through a gradual process of de-cohesion and
detachment of the paint film.
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| Lesion on the upper part of the main
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Lesions
Extensive cracks in the wall paintings
show the seriousness of the Chapels static condition due to its particular
architectural configuration and the vicissitudes of the buildings
forming part of the complex, further aggravated by exceptional events
such as a nearby bomb strike during World War Two and earthquakes
(especially that of 1976).
The main areas of crack damage are: the inner surface of the roof
vaulting in the area of the keystone and the upper registers of both
side walls, immediately above the junction point with the walls (extending
mainly in a horizontal direction); the inner wall of the facade and
the upper part of the main arch (extending mainly in a vertical and
diagonal direction). Serious lesions of the plaster were also present
in the area of the join between the roof vaulting and the inner wall
of the facade and the main arch.
Investigations carried out during the current restoration project
showed that serious lack of adhesion (q.v.) occurs mainly in the area
of lesions.
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The "tondo" which was
lifted as a test during World War Two
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Lifted pieces
Another of the conservation
techniques used in the Chapel was "lifting" - in
other words, the deliberate removal of just the paint film.
As with the detached portions (q.v.) removed and replaced
in the roof vaulting, lifting of the paint film was tried
out to see if were possible to remove the frescoes from the
walls to prevent their destruction during World War Two. It
was only carried out on two very small parts of the frescoes
- the "tondo" depicting the Virgin and Child, and
a part of the imitation marble. But the outcome was totally
unsatisfactory since it proved almost impossible to separate
the paint film and the plaster backing due to the good cohesion
between them.
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