project | restoration of the
church of saint mary
of graces in calcinaio
cortona (ar)2015
Every architect would be excited and honoured to have the opportunity to take part in the restoration of the church Madonna del Calcinaio in Cortona. The church was designed by Francesco di Giorgio Martini, who was from Siena, in 1485. It is not only a national monument, but also one of the most well-known and perhaps the most representative masterpiece of the Renaissance.
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- © michele milesi
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- © michele milesi
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- © michele milesi
© michele milesi
The temple combines its considerable size, which conveys to observers a unique impression of lightness and momentum, with the designer’s desire to make it eternal, although it was built in a seismic area near the bed of a stream. The amazing, extremely elegant proportions of the Latin-cross-shaped outline of the temple, the tholobate and the five-point dome make the temple earthquake proof thanks to the combined use of longitudinal and transverse buttresses. The stream flows under the temple, thus providing the humidity necessary to its frames, so that any damages from earthquakes are repaired by the constantly ongoing carbonatation.
© michele milesi
We have been assigned the task of taking care of the restoration with the support of the FAI (Italian National Environmental Fund) of Arezzo, with the aim of carrying out the urgently necessary preservation and maintenance work, including the redevelopment of the surrounding areas, so as to make the temple a tourist attraction.
© michele milesi