A note dating back to the XNUMXth century was found in one of the wooden columns of the organ of the Old Cathedral of Brescia. The singular discovery occurred during the restoration work which involved the Antegnati-Serassi organ and the frescoes by Girolamo Romanino.
“It was folded into 32 parts”
The note, belonging to a craftsman and perfectly preserved, was found when the doors were put back in their place after a long exposure to the Duomo Nuovo. The document, still perfectly legible despite the passage of time, "was folded into 32 parts", as he said Joseph Spataro, construction manager. The same one commented: “A find like this is very rare, we were lucky.”
Attention to details
The note dates back to 1538, when the organ was inaugurated, two years after its creation by Gian Giacomo Antegnati, descendant of a well-known family of organ builders from Brescia. It is not the first time that artefacts from the past have come to light during restorations. The restoration team led by Paolo MarianiIn fact, he always pays great attention to all the details.
In the sentence, the author and the year of creation
The following phrase is written on the ticket: “Mi Pasì da Pasira si fa questo coloni de l'orgen del dom / El dì 12 de aprilil mili 538”. The text, translated by the teacher Barbara Maria Savy, professor of art history at the University of Padua and scholar of Romanino, reveals the name of the craftsman (Pasì di Passarano) who created the organ columns, and the date in which they were made. A first restoration of the musical instrument dates back to 1826, by the Serassi brothers. The inauguration of the current restoration of the organ, scheduled for November 19th, is part of the Bergamo and Brescia Capital of Culture 2023 calendar.
(Representative photos, from Pixabay; Photos of the Duomo Vecchio Brescia, from the Facebook Page)
Leave a comment (0)