Restoring the Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi - Essay Example

Restoring the Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi Even though the catastrophic earthquake occurred in Italy on September 26, 1997, killed only ten people, it caused immense damages to some of the renowned properties of Italy including the Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi. The Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi is one of the most important pilgrimage places of Christians since it is the burial place of St. Francis. Assisi is the place where St. Francis was born. In short, both Assisi and the basilica are important pilgrimage places for Christians. The earthquake caused severe damages to the ceiling vault of the Upper Basilica and in the tympanum of the left transept even though the remaining parts underwent only minor damages (book). Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi was one of the best examples of the medieval Italian art of the 13th century. One of the unique characteristics of this basilica is the mixed artistic styles used in the construction of it. While the upper Basilica was constructed in Gothic style, the lower Basilica was constructed in Romanesque style. Decorations with the help of Frescoes; both in the upper and lower part of this basilica made it extremely beautiful (wiki). In short, it was impossible for the Italians and the Roman Catholic Church believers to witness the destruction of this basilica as a result of the earthquake. The reconstruction efforts of the basilica were started soon after the earthquake. The immediately after the earthquake, efforts were made to secure the remaining portions of the building from the continuing tremors. Damaged frescos that remained in the walls of the church were reconstructed from the fragments. A fresco by Cimabue, believed destroyed in the 1997 earthquake, has been partially reconstructed from thousands of fragments. It is to be reinstalled in the Basilica of St Francis next March. The restoration is the last in an extraordinary eight-year conservation project co-ordinated by the regional government of Umbria and the State-run Istituto Centrale del Restauro in Rome, and financed by the State (Osser and Beatty) Even though the church was reopened in 1999, majority of the fragments of the frescos are still remaining in the storage. Saint Francis of Assisi was born in Assisi in 1181 as the son of a wealthy cloth merchant. Even though he was born in a wealthy family, he gradually lost the appetite for worldly life during his youth period. He was immensely attracted towards spirituality and started to preach in the streets of Italy. His preaching and simple life styles attracted thousands of people and people started to consider him as a saint. He is believed to be the first person who received the stigmata (bodily marks in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus). He died in 1226. Immediately after his death, the plan for establishing a church in his name started under the patronage of Pope Gregory IX. St. Francis basilica was constructed in 1228. It consists of two churches; Upper Church and the Lower Church, and a crypt where the remains of the saint are enclosed. The canonization of St Francis was happened on July 17th 1228 and in the next day; Pope Gregory IX laid the first stone of the Lower Basilica. The saint’s body brought here from San Giorgio and buried in the church even before the completion of the construction of the Lower church (Assisi). In the past, St. Francis basilica survived many earthquake disasters. Moderate and severe earthquakes happened in AD 1279, 1328, 1703, 1747, 1781, 1799, 1832, 1859, 1917, 1979 etc. However, the church survived all those earthquake attacks because of the peculiar construction or architecture methods adopted for the construction of this church. Both upper and lower churches were constructed in identical manner. In fact the upper basilica is a replica of the lower basilica. The visitors of St Francis Basilica first arrive at a transept which was built between 1280 and 1300. Between 1300 and 1350, a series of chapels were opened up in the lateral wall of the transept and nave, destroying some of the frescoes that once decorated the side walls. Moreover, between 1350 and 1400, lots of lateral chapels were added opposite to the main entrance of the church (Assisi). One of the most significant or beautiful aspects of this basilica is the elaborated decoration. Since church is a place where the presence of God is experienced, it is mandatory to make churches in a beautiful fashion. God never stays in an impure or unholy place and therefore it is customary to construct and maintain churches in a beautiful manner. Italians are generally famous for designs and aesthetic works and their expertise and beauty sense can be witnessed in the walls of this church. Frescos by numerous painters were used to decorate the walls of both upper and lower churches. The works or frescos by famous medieval painters like Cimabue, Giotto, Simone Martini, Pietro Lorenzetti, Pietro Cavallini etc were used lavishly in the walls of this church. The upper part of the nave was decorated by 32 different frescos taking themes from the Old Testament and New Testament like the creation of the world, Joseph’s story, the life of Isaac, the blessings given to Jacob by Isaac etc. Frescoes featuring Pentecost and Resurrection of Jesus etc were fixed at the upper portion of the entrance wall. Fresco can be briefly defined as the painting done plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco has Latin origin. It is originated from Italian word affresco which is the modified form of Greek word Fresh. Normally the surface of the wall or the ceiling may not be suitable enough to do painting works. The rough surfaces of the wall or ceiling will be smoothened initially using different layers of plaster coating. The first layer of plaster (Arricio) is applied directly to the wall and after drying, final layer (intonaco) applied on top of the first layer. An outline of the painting and the fresco painted in different colors will be transferred to the intonaco layer before it gets dried. “As the plaster dries it reacts with the air and forms a new chemical compound that traps the colored pigments beneath the surface of the painting leading to great durability and a luminous quality to the painting” (UD artcon). The series of earthquake starting from September 26, 1997, caused immense damages to different parts of the church. “One of the most valuable works of art destroyed was the cycle of frescoes at the upper church of the Basilica of St Francis in Assisi” (1997: Earthquakes rock central Italy). The September 26, 1997 earthquake damaged the tympanum of the left transept whereas the October 7 earthquake caused damages to the ceiling vault. Even though Gothic style constructions are better in appearance, it cannot survive the threats of earthquake like natural disasters. The geometry of Gothic construction has weaker joints which are vulnerable to earthquake. Upper Basilica which was constructed in Gothic style suffered major damages as a result of the 1997 earthquake. The intersection between the rib-vaults and the structure which rest on it which are attached via mortar create feeble joints. As a result, the nave was fatally destroyed as were two frescoes on rib-vaults depicting St. Jerome and St. Matthew. The first resides near the facade rib-vault and the second to the side of the collapsed transept. The vaulted ceiling had already become fragile due to an increase of different types of destruction, and accumulating deformation caused by previous seismic activity. The collapse was due to an accumulation of various types of damage, and by factors of permanent weakness and increasing deformation caused by previous seismic activity, so that when the earthquake struck the Basilica on September 26, 1997, the vaulted ceiling had already lost part of its load-bearing capacity (Give citation) It was difficult to start the rescue operations immediately after the earthquake because of the precarious conditions of the church. Large cracks were visible everywhere including on the walls and the ceilings which generated doubts about the survival of the church. In many places the ribbings were detached from the main structure which made the rescue operations or the efforts to counteract the damages extremely dangerous. Moreover, thousands of tons of debris were accumulated over the vaulting which added to the agonies of the rescue workers. It was not so easy for the restoration workers to reconstruct the church in its past shape. Most of the frescos were damaged and the structural weaknesses were evident after the disaster. Refilling of the cracks or the reinforcing of the weakened areas was practically difficult because of the peculiarities of the designs and materials used in the construction of this church. “Since the refilling follows the deformation of the vaulting, it opposes the recovery of the deformed section, thereby leading to an accumulation of permanent deformations, resulting in the loss of curvature”(Give citation). The immediate rescue action required was the prevention of the collapse of tympanum. Even though the ideas of erection of scaffolding were proposed initially for the support of tympanum, later that idea was rejected because of the safety concerns. The necessity of the services of cranes was finally agreed after the debate among the rescue workers. A huge crane which lifted another crane and placed it inside the compound of the church, since the entrance of the church was narrow for the passage of bigger cranes. “This crane made it possible to lift a steel grid frame, placing it against the damaged masonry thereby creating an effective temporary reinforcement. The holes in the damaged tympanum were then filled with expanded polyurethane foam which temporarily stabilized the masonry as it hardened” (185)  Another problem faced in the rescue operations was how to reach the vaulting. The risk of further collapse prevented the normal methods of reaching the vaulting. The idea of constructing a walkaway suspended from the roof was finally decided after examining the large oculus on the facade. It helped the rescue workers in two ways; it provided an inspection platform and also a base from which repair works could be started. With the help of numerous ties (each tie was fitted with shock absorbing springs in order to ensure uniform force), vaulting were attached to the arches constructed by the masons. (185)  The reconstruction efforts were mainly focused on the vaulting and the tympanum of the left transept. Most of the bricks used in the original construction were destroyed as a result of the severity of the earthquake. However, a few bricks which suffered fewer damages were reassembled in the laboratory and used in the reconstruction process. At the same time, the reconstruction engineers succeeded in making new bricks with the same chemical composition as the original ones, and used them in the reconstruction process. In addition to the newly created bricks, lots of screw-tension devices were also used in the reconstruction of arches and vaults in order to obtain physical continuity and the uniform distribution of the stresses (186).  The tympanum was the heavily damaged portion of the church. The surviving part of the tympanum was in such a precarious condition that it was necessary to dismantle part of it and rebuild it using stone from a quarry with similar characteristics of the original one. The tympanum remains vulnerable element even though it has been consolidated and partially reconstructed, since the upper part stands out from the roof. To reduce the effects produced by seismic action, it was therefore decided not to create a rigid link between the roofing and the tympanum, but rather a flexible link, using special devices containing a "shape memory alloy." The main feature of this alloy is that if follows the seismic cycles while always remaining in traction, allowing the masonry to form small deformations and micro-cracks, thereby enabling part of the energy to be dissipated (186)  The restoration of Basilica of St Francis is a big surprise for the lay man. Few decades before, it was difficult for somebody to anticipate such a comprehensive restoration process of a historical building or monument. However, architectural technologies advanced a lot as a result of the advancements in science and technologies, which made the impossible, possible. It should be noted that the restoration workers used almost same or similar materials in the reconstruction process in order to keep the originality of the old church. Observers who watched the previous and current buildings of Basilica of St Francis may not identify many differences in the previous and current constructions; thanks to the advanced construction technologies. Works Cited 1. “1997: Earthquakes Rock Central Italy”. Web. 11 July 2011. 2. Osser Edek and Beatty Emma. “The Restored St Francis Basilica”. 2005. Web. 11 July 2011. Read More