La basilica dei SS. Giovanni e Paolo a Venezia: interventi ottocenteschi sulle superfici architettoniche per una nuova immagine del monumento veneziano

The paper is the result of a graduation master thesis in architecture discussed at Università Iuav di Venezia. The study was carried out in collaboration with the Soprintendenza Archeologia, belle arti e paesaggio per il Comune di Venezia e Laguna. The dissertation deals with 19th-century restoration interventions in the Basilica dei SS. Giovanni e Paolo in Venice. The current state of decay observed in situ has therefore been taken as a pretext for moving in the direction of a wider read back of the monument. After the Campoformio treaty, the basilica became a state property and was considered the receptacle of works of art from other buildings in the process of demolition. Lots of reports e drawings kept in the historical archive of the Soprintendenza show the consequent state of decay and damage of the building and allow the historical reconstruction of the 19th-century restoration works. The study is thus necessary also for the future interventions of the Soprintendenza. By analysing this documentation, the research highlights issues related to the traditional restoration construction-site. The study pointed out how scaffolding fabrication for conservative interventions was also an occasion for the addition of interventions on the façades aimed at restoring a hypothetical original state. Hence, the term "architectural surfaces" can be extended to the architectural "skin" of the building, by bringing out not only interventions on the building materials but also those of façades redrawing. These interventions on the architectural surfaces of SS. Giovanni e Paolo modified significantly the perception of the image of the Venetian monument.