The fourteenth-century frescoes have been restored, a new face for the church of San Francesco di Udine

The works, which cost 44 thousand euros, were financed by the Municipality. The mayor: the building will be included in a cultural itinerary

UDINE. New face for the church of San Francesco in Udine. Conservative restoration work on the fourteenth-century frescoes and plasters that have affected the holy arch of the church has been completed.

Already the subject of interventions during the twentieth century, the frescoes in question depict the Annunciation, the Madonna on the throne, San Cristoforo and Christ on the throne.

The work had a cost of 44 thousand euros financed by the Municipality of Udine and specifically concerned the cleaning, consolidation and recovery of the frescoes that have deteriorated over time.

The restoration lasted about six months and will now make it possible to better read and interpret some pictorial passages, which were already known to exist, fully grasping their strong symbolic value.

The works started in November 2021 after the approval of the project by the Superintendency which supervised all phases of the intervention.

«We are really satisfied with the excellent work done by the restorers – declared Annamaria Nicastro, art historian of the Superintendence -. The church of San Francesco represents a treasure chest for the city of Udine as a cultural asset of high importance belonging to the Franciscan friars.

First of all, we worked to secure the existing frescoes through careful cleaning, consolidation and recovery.

We believe – he concludes – it is essential to respect and preserve the traces of our past to make it known to the new generations ».

The interventions, however, will not end here. The structure will be equipped with an adequate lighting system that will allow you to make the most of the beauty it has to offer.

As pointed out by Nicastro, the hope for the future is to be able to continue with the restoration work to bring out and highlight the rich historical and cultural heritage that the church has to offer.

Even the mayor of Udine, Pietro Fontanini expressed satisfaction with the success of the interventions.

«The church of San Francesco is a flagship for the city of Udine – he declared -. The monument dates back to 1200 and has very significant frescoes that can now be admired by citizens and tourists “. The mayor also expressed the willingness of the administration to include the church as the destination of an important cultural journey.

For this reason, the administration’s wish is that, together with highly attractive places such as the Duomo and the Patriarchal Palace, the church of San Francesco will also become a popular destination, not only for tourists but also for art experts and for the same people from Udine.

“There are numerous initiatives planned in the coming months that will see the monument in question as the protagonist – concludes the mayor -. I am not referring solely to exhibitions.

In October, for example, the church will host the Symphony orchestra of the Fvg which will perform with a live concert ».

The councilor for culture Fabrizio Cigolot – present together with Cesare Scalon, president of the Pio Paschini Institute for the History of the Church of Friuli, Valentino Fontanini, project manager, and the restorer Claudia Regazzoni with her collaborators – underlined how this intervention represents “a commitment maintained towards the citizens”.