Inviolata Restoration Advances: Structural Supports and Water Management
The Amici della Terra risk ending up with little to show for themselves, at least regarding the suspicion of neglect and billions of dollars in waste over the years, recently raised by President Paolo Barbagli against the Inviolata.
Interventions and updates in the Inviolata restoration
Clarifications come from architect Gianmaria Campetti, who is overseeing the monument’s restoration on behalf of the Santa Maria Assunta parish, first in collaboration with the Sovrintendenza di Verona and later with the State Heritage Department.
Architect Campetti presents two significant updates in the recovery of the baroque monument built by Cristoforo Madruzzo. The deterioration condition has worsened dramatically since the 1980s, when main concerns focused on property ownership and the burden of military obligations linked to the building.
While experts debated, rainwater streamed through the dilapidated roof, erasing the frescoes inside. Additionally, asphalt laid recklessly over all roads around the church contributed to channeling considerable amounts of water onto the foundations.
Studies and technical interventions
After years of research (the first critical assessment of the Inviolata dates back to 1988, with the first overall project remaining at proposal stage due to lack of funds, two years later), the turning point came from two studies, each costing 25 million lire and funded entirely by the parish.
Milano’s Geoconsult monitored humidity cycles over four seasons, totaling 12 months. The Rosanò e Cornale studio in Padova analyzed the materials used, employing the latest investigative techniques.
This phase revealed, for example, that toward the end of the 19th century, someone—whose identity remains unknown—applied a coat of cement plaster on the exterior of the octagonal apse.
Structural and systemic interventions
The studies led to the decision to excavate a continuous tunnel around the entire perimeter, unlike the previous century’s approach of stopping the trench at the doors.
An additional strategy involved installing a chimney inside the bell tower—a straightforward yet effective solution. Its design was based on detailed studies and advanced techniques.
The conduit ascends about twenty meters, ensuring a continuous draft that aids in ventilating the underground tunnel.
The months of measurements taken for the provincial authorities by architect Adamoli, who inherited the church from the Sovrintendenza di Verona, confirmed that the issue with the perimeter walls has been resolved.
Furthermore, a Acco system, a German technology tested in Bolzano for ten years, has been implemented. It reverses the polarity at the base of the walls, so instead of water rising, it is pushed downward, in the opposite direction.
Regarding the floor, assembled from stones of five different types—including a highly valued black stone from Ragoli—and based on recent measurement results, architect Campetti believes no intervention is necessary.
Only the central circular part will be removed to create an air chamber, connected via ducts dug beneath the floor with a special drill to the external perimeter tunnel.
Following that, efforts will focus on restoring the frescoes from the drum downwards: those in the dome were already recovered between 1990 and 1993.