LEAD FUNDER
Kowalski Family Foundation

GRAND BENEFACTORS
Amy and David Abrams
Howard and Roberta Ahmanson
The Behney Family in Memory of Sandra Pizzarello Fabbri

GRAND PATRON
A. Fenner Milton†

PATRONS
Sandra Ourusoff Massey through the Boston Chapter in honor of Melissa Conn and Frederick Ilchman
Carter and Susan Emerson
Jon and Barbara Landau
Essex Callaway Family Fund
The Boston Chapter of Save Venice

CONTRIBUTORS
Daniel Fitzgerald in Memory of Louis & Teresa Verza
MJ Fleischman
Dr. Carol Lynn MacGregor
Linda Cheverton Wick
Dr. Peter Weller

With additional support from: Susan and Bernard Pucker In Honor of Frederick & Cassandra Ilchman; Paulette Ryan; and Christine J. Steiner

This campaign is fully funded thanks to the generosity of the above donors.

The church of Santa Maria Assunta is the oldest surviving structure in the Venetian lagoon: an inscription in the presbytery records that it was founded in 639.  The Basilica was enlarged in the 9th and 11th centuries.

Thought to date to the 11th century, the mosaic floor of the presbytery in the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta is in a very fragile state of conservation. Extending circa 900 square feet (85 sq.m) between the iconostasis and the high altar, it is composed of precious marble and stone tesserae in geometric designs.

Beginning in October 2025, the Catholic Diocese of Venice undertook extensive roof repairs, both inside and outside the basilica, scheduled to continue through November 2026. The newly restored mosaic floor, protected by temporary boarding, is now sufficiently stable to support the weight of the required scaffolding.

The mosaic floor of the presbytery suffered from multiple issues caused by prolonged exposure to rising damp, further exacerbated by the exceptional acqua alta of November 2019. The underlying mortar had deteriorated, leading to the detachment of individual mosaic tesserae, while persistent salt deposits posed additional threats to the integrity of the floor’s materials. Public access to the presbytery was therefore restricted to prevent further damage from foot traffic.

Work began in fall 2023 under the direction of master mosaic conservator Giovanni Cucco, who had previously restored the apse wall mosaics of the church as part of Save Venice’s 50th Anniversary Campaign (2020–2022).

The conservation plan involved detaching the mosaic floor in sections, removing and replacing the deteriorated mortar, reintegrating missing tesserae, and mounting each section on a new support. The detached portions were transferred to a temporary laboratory set up in the closed fourth nave of the church for treatment.

In August 2024, a new subfloor was installed using traditional Roman construction methods described by Vitruvius in De Architectura, with carefully calibrated layers designed to ensure stability, drainage, and protection from humidity. A statumen layer provided a solid foundation, followed by the rudus and nucleus, composed of small stones mixed with lime and brick fragments (cocciopesto), creating a stable and level surface for the reinstallation of the mosaic.

Once the subfloor had fully dried, conservators began reinstalling the outer marble sections and the mosaic panels between November 2024 and December 2025.