Michelangelo’s Rondanini Pietà has a new home

Michelangelo’s last sculpture dating back to 1564, Rondanini Pietà, has now found a new splendid home: the Museum of Michelangelo’s Rondanini Pietà. The museum will open to the public on May 2, upon the inauguration of Milan Expo 2015. After nearly sixty years at the Sala degli Scarlioni in Milan Sforza Castle’s Museum of Ancient Art, the Rondanini Pietà has been definitively moved to a new dedicated exhibition space, in the beautifully restored Ospedale Spagnolo (Spanish Hospital). This is the result of nearly three years of collaborative work involving public and private players: the Milan Municipal Administration, Italy’s Ministry for Heritage Conservation, Culture and Tourism and its local superintendence offices, Italy’s High Institute for Conservation and Restoration and the Cultural Heritage unit of Milan Polytechnic for diagnostic, monitoring and engineering work. The contribution of  Fondazione Cariplo, as an institutional partner of the Sforza Castle, has been crucial to the architectural restoration and the creation of the museum spaces. A variety of players have synergistically combined their expertise in conservation, restoration, design and engineering to ensure best enjoyment of Michelangelo’s masterpiece as well as best protection of the artwork.

The delicate, complex work to ensure best enjoyment of the Rondanini Pietà by displaying it in a dedicated museum was finally completed in a year that is particularly important for Milan. «Although this had been clear from the very beginning, it was still a surprise to see today how the combination of Michelangelo’s masterpiece, the fascinating space of the old Spanish Hospital and the sophisticated installation by Michele De Lucchi creates perfect harmony in the blending of the architecture with the artwork, finally allowing the Pietà to fully manifest its expressive power and convey it to those who come to view it» said Claudio Salsi, Head of the Superintendence for the Sforza Castle, the Museums of Archeology and the Museums of History. «This could not have been possible without the valuable guidance provided by Italy’s High Institute for Conservation and Restoration that supervised all preventive conservation work and protection measures for the relocation of the sculpture, including the study for the original high-tech pedestal that supports the Pietà as well as the project to monitor the artwork surface conducted in close cooperation with the cultural heritage unit of Milan Polytechnic and the other partners» added Claudio Salsi

«As an institution that has long been committed to supporting cultural, social and environmental projects in our communities, we chose to back the restoration of the Spanish Hospital that is the new home of the Rondanini Pietà, and thus contribute to return a masterpiece to the enjoyment of the global public. We trust that in a year of extraordinary importance for Milan, the Sforza Castle and the Rondanini Pietà can truly make beauty a universal vehicle of acceptance, inclusion, participation and sharing for all the people of Milan and all those who will come to visit it» said Giuseppe Guzzetti, Fondazione Cariplo’s President.

Photo@Roberto Mascaroni