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| Jewel of Vicenza | |
|---|---|
 Top: recent reconstruction Bottom: painting of the 16th Century | |
| Artist | Giorgio Capobianco, Andrea Palladio |
| Year | 1578 |
| Type | sculpture |
| Medium | silver |
| Dimensions | 25 cm (10 in); 58 cm diameter (23 in) |
| Condition | lost and rebuilt |
| Location | Museo Diocesano, Vicenza |
The Jewel of Vicenza (in italian, Gioiello di Vicenza) was an ancient silver model[1] of the city of Vicenza, attributed to the architect Andrea Palladio[2] in the 16th century[3], made as ex-voto and stolen by Napoleon during the Italian Campaign in the French Revolutionary Wars[4].
The original jewel is lost[3] but a very similar copy was reconstructed between 2012 and 2013[5][6].
History[edit]
The precious jewel was made by silver plates on a wood frame and completed in 1578[7]. Its attribution owns to the skills of the goldsmith of the Capobianco family[8], as was also discovered in a recently found document in the "Sanctuary of the Madonna" of Monte Berico in 2012. There's not the complete certainty Andrea Palladio, but the bond between two Bishops of Vicenza (Niccolò Ridolfi and his successor Matteo Priuli) suggests that Palladio's role of director of the city life was more important of the role of architect; anyhow, for him the Jewel should have represented his own idea of the city of Vicenza conceived in his mind[9]. The citizens offered the Jewel as an ex-voto to the "Madonna of mount Berico"[7] in order to avoid the Plague of saint Charles Borromeo, spread two years before in Duchy of Milan with some infection cases in the western cities of the Republic of Venice, up to Verona. In a such period of poor conditions the all citizenship had the strength to unite with a modest gift from each family[4].
Vicenza was spared (unless, until the great Italian plague of 1629–31), so the Jewel was initially preserved in the church built a century before in honour of the Madonna, next to the present "Santuario della Madonna di Monte Berico". Between the 17th and the 18th century six oil paintings were made, representing the first patron saint of the city Saint Vincent holding the silver Jewel in his hands[2].
Under the Napoleonic government, the French troops raided, as in most of Italy, part of cultural heritage and in 1797 destroyed the model melting it[10]; the armée française once occupied the Sanctuary brought the Jewel in France deeming it to be fully silvery: instead, during the attempt of fusion, it burnt, as it was wood-made and covered by a silver coating[6]. So the model was uselessly destroyed, robbing Vicenza an important part of its centenniel history of goldsmith's art.
Reconstruction[edit]
In May 2010 was founded a Committee for the Jewel of Vicenza supported by the Office of Cultural Heritage and other local institutions which held a competition for virtual restoration of the Jewel. The competition was won by the architect Romano Concato from Trissino, who had to compensate the absence of original drawings with the study of two paintings by Francesco Maffei and other two ones by Alessandro Maganza.
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Alessandro Maganza, San Vincenzo e un angelo presentano a Cristo il modello della città di Vicenza, 1593, Pojana Maggiore, the Parish Church -
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Francesco Maffei, San Vincenzo col modello della città di Vicenza, 1625, Vicenza, the Diocesan Museum
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The paintings portraying Saint Vincent holding in the hand the precious model are one of the few evidences come down to us; an interesting feature of the paintings in that they show the Jewel from different points of view, so as to give the possibility to imagine its tridimensionality. Each painting shows the model as the main element of the picture, offered by Saint Vincent, seen frontally, with Vicenza enclosed in its medieval walls: in that period was already existing the distinction between the "borghi" (boroughs) over the walls and the inner part of the city, nowadays the Old Town of Vicenza[3][11]. The reconstruction has been also developed with the support of the medieval planimetrics of the city, the Pianta Angelica, designed by Giovanni Pittoni in 1580[11][12].
In 2011 the Committee promoted the second part of the whole project, an enterprise in order to give back to Vicenza the artwork collecting silver donations, as happened for the ancient ex-voto[13] with 66 lbs (30 kgs) as minimun target; in 2012, despite more than 110 lbs (50 kgs) were already collected (enough for the project), ten of the most important goldsmiths of the city went on collecting until 25th December, to create a work on the development and theca for exposure[4].
Features[edit]
The new Jewel of Vicenza has the appearance of a large round tray with a diameter of 58 cm[14] made up of more than 300 models of buildings, 61 of which represent buildings of historical importance such as the Basilica Palladiana, the Cathedral, the Torre Bissara, the dozens of churches; in the center of Piazza dei Signori was inserted, unannounced, a gold model of the Rua.
The jewel was designed by proportioning the models with the golden ratio, studying the size of the building of the time allowing the three-dimensional reconstruction of the model the most likely to the original[15].
It is made of 925/1000 silver, starting with small sculptures in modelled wax that served as a model for subsequent casting. The elements obtained have been finished and embellished with a chisel and engraving finish. The final weight is 15 kg net[14]; the total effort was about 2,000 hours of work[16].
Exposure[edit]
On June 15, 2012 in Piazza dei Signori was held the official presentation[17], after which the work began by combining the craftsmanship of silversmith Carlo Rossi[18] to a sophisticated laser technology offered by a company in Bressanvido[4]. Already in September 2012 at the Gallerie di Palazzo Leoni Montanari was presented the tray finished with the first complete building, namely the Church of San Lorenzo[4]. From April 6 to June 9, 2013, with the support of FAI, was exhibited at the Diocesan Museum the Jewel halfway through the work[19]. In the summer of 2013 the Jewel was completed; it was returned to the citizens for the town's patronal feast on September 7, joining the usual procession to the Basilica of St. Mary of Mount Berico, in an official ceremony[5] that had 30,000 participants[20].
The Jewel is now permanently welcomed at the Diocesan Museum and placed next to the canvas of Maffei San Vincenzo with the model of the city of Vicenza.
In 2015, the Jewel was exhibited in Milan, at Expo 2015. Within the international event, silversmith Carlo Rossi was awarded the Confartigianato Design Award 2015[21] for the realization of the work.
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The completed Jewel, in its exposure site
References[edit]
- ^ Originally called the Modello (model) or Modellino (small model), from the 18th century onwards the term Jewel has become increasingly used, a term also used by the Municipality of Vicenza and the Diocese of Vicenza. See also Barbieri, Cevese, 2004 and Barbieri, 1973.
- ^ a b citation|title=Vicenza, ritratto di una città|author=Barbieri, Cevese|page=383|edition=Barbieri, 2004}}
- ^ a b c
Quando, nel 1577, i vicentini vogliono presentare alla Madonna di Monte Berico, in ringraziamento dello scampato flagello della peste, un "modello" della città in legno rivestito d'argento, la cara "piccola patria" vi appare ripresa, con ineccepibile quanto significativa, drastica "semplificazione", chiusa nell'anello circolare rappresentato dalla città più antica con le sue cinque porti principali. Scomparso il "modello" sciaguratamente distrutto dai Francesi nel 1797, possiamo, infatti, fortunatamente verificarlo grazie a due puntuali rese pittoriche, non molto più tarde, di Alessandro Maganza e di Francesco Maffei: senza peraltro dimenticare che all'"invenzione" del "modello", non era rimasto estraneo, nel 1578, lo stesso Palladio.
When, in 1577, the people of Vicenza wanted to present to the Madonna di Monte Berico, in thanksgiving for the survived scourge of the plague, a "model" of the city in wood covered with silver, the dear "small country" appears to you taken up again, with impeccable as well as significant, drastic "simplification", closed in the circular ring represented by the oldest city with its five main ports. After the disappearance of the "model" badly destroyed by the French in 1797, we can, in fact, fortunately verify it thanks to two precise pictorial renditions, not much later, by Alessandro Maganza and Francesco Maffei: without forgetting that the "invention" of the "model", had not remained foreign, in 1578, the same Palladio.
Barbieri, Cevese, Vicenza, ritratto di una città (Barbieri, 2004 ed.), p. 35 - ^ a b c d e "Il Gioiello di Vicenza prende forma con l'argento donato". Il Giornale di Vicenza. 12 September 2012.
- ^ a b "Il Gioiello di Vicenza. Piazza dei Signori - Orario: 19". Comune di Vicenza. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
- ^ a b Luca Trevisan (1 April 2013). "Una Vicenza d'argento". antiqua.mi. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
- ^ a b
Sulla sommità della sua lanterna verrà a posarsi, nel 1574, in sostituzione della croce alzatavi in precedenza, l'effige di un angelo ad ali spiegate, in legno rivestita in rame dorato: interessandosi direttamente dei lavori della posa in opera lo stesso Palladio. Un fulmine l'abbatteva nel 1620; rivedendo oggi quell'immagine splendente, consegnataci in dipinti del Maganza e del Maffei, o liberantesi, in più ravvicinata testimonianza, sul "modello" della città, consacrato nel 1577-1578 al santuario di Monte Berico, e riandando a ciò che l'architetto aveva rappresentato nelle intenzioni e nelle speranze dei promotori della riforma della facies civica
On the top of his lantern, in 1574, the effigy of an angel with extended wings, in wood covered in gilded copper, will be placed in place to replace the previous lifting cross: Palladio himself was directly interested in the work of the installation. It was struck by lightning in 1620; seeing again today that shining image, given to us in paintings by Maganza and Maffei, or liberantesi, in closer testimony, on the "model" of the city, consecrated in 1577-1578 to the sanctuary of Monte Berico, and going back to what the architect had represented in the intentions and hopes of the promoters of the reform of the civic facies
Barbieri, Cevese, Vicenza, ritratto di una città (Barbieri, 2004 ed.), p. 82 - ^ Lionello Puppi (1975). "Capobianco Giorgio - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani". Treccani. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
- ^ "Il Gioiello". VicenzaPiù. 16 October 2010.
- ^ "Il "virtuale" del Gioiello di Vicenza". professionearchitetto.it. 25 May 2010.
- ^ a b Barbieri, Cevese, p. 347 & Barbieri, 2004
- ^ "Pianta di Vicenza". Biblioteca Angelica. 21 March 2011. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
- ^ "Romano Concato "ridisegna" Il Gioiello di Vicenza, si raccoglie l'argento per realizzarlo". BassanoPiù. 25 October 2011.
- ^ a b Telegiornale 06/09/13 19:30. TVA Vicenza. 6 September 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
- ^ (Part of the original description) Marinelli, Rigoni, Theatrum urbis: personaggi e vedute di Vicenza (Marinelli, 2003 ed.), pp. 185–228
- ^ "Rinasce il Gioiello di Vicenza". vicenza.com.
- ^ ""Il Gioiello di Vicenza" protagonista in piazza dei Signori domani venerdì 15 giugno". Comune di Vicenza. 14 June 2012.
- ^ Carlo Rossi (2 October 2012). "Primi colpi al vassoio". YouTube.
- ^ Locandina di presentazione dell'esposizione del Gioiello.
- ^ Federico Murzio (9 September 2013). "A Monte Berico 30 mila fedeli". Il Giornale di Vicenza. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
- ^ "Confartigianato: Expo 2015, 26 'campioni' dell'artigianato made in Italy vincono il Concorso di Confartigianato". www.confartigianato.it. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
Bibliography[edit]
- Franco Barbieri, Renato Cevese (2004). Vicenza, ritratto di una città (Barbieri, 2004 ed.). Vicenza: Angelo Colla editore. ISBN 88-900990-7-0.
- Emilio Franzina, Neri Pozza (1980). Vicenza. Storia di una città (1404-1866) (Franzina, 1980 ed.). Vicenza: Neri Pozza Edizioni. ISBN 88-7305-333-5.
- Franco Barbieri (1973). La pianta prospettica di Vicenza del 1580 (Barbieri, 1973 ed.). Vicenza: Neri Pozza Edizioni. ISBN 8873053726.
- Sergio Marinelli, Chiara Rigoni (2003). Theatrum urbis: personaggi e vedute di Vicenza (Marinelli, 2003 ed.). Verona: Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio Verona, Vicenza, Belluno e Ancona.
Related articles[edit]
Other projects[edit]
Links[edit]
Category:Vicenza Category:Silver sculptures Category:Lost works