Restoration completed in 2015 with funding from Cat Jagger Pollon in honor of Frederick Ilchman.

After years of exposure to the elements, the installation of this seventeenth-century stone relief of the Virgin Mary in Prayer had become perilous, and it was at risk of damage or theft. Located on the Ramo Fontana street corner in the sestiere of Castello, close to the church of San Giovanni in Bragora, this votive relief is much beloved by the local Castello residents. It depicts the Madonna with her hands clasped in prayer; she turns her head back over her shoulder and her gaze upward, recalling representations of the Annunciation in which she encounters the Archangel Gabriel. Although the work is in relatively low relief, the plastic quality of the drapery folds surrounding her suggest depth and movement.

Following the completion of the restoration in the fall of 2015, the sculpture was reinstalled on the wall of the Ramo Fontana, where it may still be admired.

Restorers carefully removed a thin layer of grey cement plaster that was most likely applied to the surface of the sculpture for protection in the early twentieth century. This modern material is harmful to the sculpture’s porous stone, and it obscured the relief’s delicate features and original details. Using a digital microscope, conservators also identified cracks throughout the work, which were integrated and sealed to protect it from future damage. Conservation treatment also revealed polychromy and refined workmanship that had been obscured by these misguided non-profession restoration attempts in the past.

The relief was restored by conservators from the Co.New Tech restoration firm, with the guidance of project director Emanuela Zucchetta of the Superintendency of Monuments of Venice.

For select projects, conservation dossiers in Italian containing limited textual and photographic documentation may be available for consultation by appointment at the Venice office of Save Venice and the Rosand Library & Study Center. For inquiries, please contact us at venice@savevenice.org.

Unidentified sculptor
Virgin Mary in Prayer
Late seventeenth century, Istrian stone