"Everything is fake so that everything seems real", Bernini loved to repeat, the unsurpassed genius of baroque illusionism.
And who knows if he would be happy today to see many of those tricks that have made one of his masterpieces unique, the Cornaro chapel in the Roman church of Santa Maria Vittoria, celebrated even by his contemporaries for its unique suggestion, for the charm without equal to that of Saint Teresa of Avila carved in Carrara marble who still seems to be alive as she moans and writhes pierced by the golden arrow of divine love.
Costing 100 thousand euros, the cleaning and consolidation works, which for the first time concerned the entire chapel of this church owned by the Fund for religious buildings, were completed in 7 months, underlined by presenting it to the press, the deputy prefect Concetta Staltari. and the superintendent Daniela Porro, entrusted to the competence of Giuseppe Mantella and led by the official Mariella Nuzzo. The results are surprising, with hidden details that come back to light, from the 4 panels in gilded stucco with the highlights in the life of the saint, up to the fresco with the representation of the Empire that awaits her, cleaned of a layer of lampblack that it dimmed the colors since 1833, the year when a fire nearly destroyed the church.
A work that also made it possible to reveal Bernini's working method, Montella notes, which was also successful thanks to the harmony of a team in which the restorers have always been supported by historians and scientists. "Here Bernini invites all the arts to compete by setting up a real theatrical scene", underlines Porro, pointing to the two sculpted boxes on the sides of the chapel from which the exponents of the client's powerful family, the Venetian cardinal Federico, appear as enchanted spectators. Cornaro. Father Angelo, rector of the church, is happy: "art is also catechesis", he says. Studies now continue. But even on maintenance you can't give up, because the smog coming from the street is unforgiving: six years after the cleanup in 2015, Mantella warns,the central sculptural group needed to be treated again.