The 16th century tryptic of Santa Liberata: diagnostics and restoration

Abstract

The tryptic of Santa Liberata (Fig. 1), dated back to 16th century, is housed in Santa Reparata Church of Casoli, a little town in the district of Chieti (Central Italy). The poor conservation state of the triptych had led the decision for a restoration intervention, strongly desired by the Catholic community of Casoli. A diagnostic campaign was carried out before and during the restoration, obtaining useful data for the identification of the execution techniques and the botanical species of wood used for the panel.

Based on a careful study of the conservation state and on the results of the diagnostic investigation, the restoration operations concerned: fixing of the painting layers, cleaning of the painted surface, anoxic treatment, pictorial reintegration and aesthetic restitution, restoration of the wooden support (silver fir) and application of new elastic restrain system. The interventions, supported by the scientific investigations, have restituted to the triptych of Santa Liberata the legibility lost over time.