Frescoes of the transept

The transept made safe.

Following several joint inspections with the Soprintendenza and the firm Dafne Restauri at the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Pizzofalcone, the precarious state of some decorative elements was ascertained, and an emergency securing intervention was therefore carried out on the frescoes of the transept, painted by Giovan Battista Beinaschi between 1668 and 1675.

With the use of a spider lift it was possible to examine at close quarters the state of conservation of the vaults: they are affected by cracking of the preparatory layers, detachment of the paint film and significant lesions in the stucco decorations.

In addition, the continuous localised dripping of water – combined with thermal fluctuations over time and presumably with the constant vibrations from the adjacent underground railway works – has triggered on the decorated surfaces phenomena of deterioration caused by colonies of autotrophic and heterotrophic microorganisms, as well as deep lesions that have caused the mortars to detach from the masonry and consequently fall.

In agreement with the Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio for the Comune di Napoli, it was decided to intervene on the affected areas through operations of chemical and mechanical disinfection of the colonies of microorganisms.

All the surfaces underwent a tapping survey and, where necessary, consolidation operations were carried out by means of injections of hydraulic mortars; to consolidate the stuccoes held by now-oxidised iron supports, pinning with fibreglass rods was carried out.