News & Stories

The church of Santi Apostoli in the sestiere of Cannaregio was one of Venice’s many landmarks that suffered devastating effects caused by the record acque alte that struck the city in November and December 2019. During each exceptional high tide, several centimeters of corrosive sea water entered the church, permeating the foundations, floors, and porous masonry. In the days and weeks that followed, the dampness continued to rise up the walls, increasing the relative humidity of the church and leaving detrimental salt deposits behind. Many of the artworks that hang on the walls and side altars around the church began showing alarming condition problems due to this drastic change in their microclimate. Thanks to the support of Save Venice’s Immediate Response Fund, conservators were able to perform crucially needed interventions to mitigate the effects of these unprecedented events.

One of the artworks in the church to benefit from treatment was Domenico Maggiotto’s 18th-century altarpiece of Saint Catherine of Alexandria with Saints Anthony Abbot, Jerome, and Giovanni Nepomuceno. A large area at the bottom of the painting was suffering from rapid decay caused by the prolonged exposure to excessive humidity and falling debris from the damp wall behind the canvas. Conservators from the Mauve firm conducted an emergency maintenance treatment on the painting, which also included the installation of a new protective barrier of alveolar polycarbonate on the back of the stretcher to help minimize any future exposure to dampness from the wall.

This IRF initiative also permitted the Mauve firm to carry out urgently-needed conservation treatment on five other paintings in the church, including Giambattista Tiepolo’s Communion of Santa Lucia, Gaspare Diziani’s Madonna and Child with Saints Joseph, John the Baptist, and Anthony of Padova, and Giovanni Contarini’s Birth of the Virgin. 

Conservation efforts in the church are now focusing on the Cornaro Chapel, which was designed by Mauro Codussi in the 1490s, and once housed the remains of Caterina Cornaro, Queen of Cyprus, before they were moved to the church of San Salvador in 1584. When Santi Apostoli was rebuilt in the mid-1700s, the chapel was re-incorporated into the newer church. As it sits at a lower elevation than the 18th-century section of the church, the Cornaro Chapel is even more prone to flooding when acqua alta occurs. On the evening of November 12, 2019 the water in the chapel rose to nearly 40cm deep.

Conservators from the Seres firm are working to remove the harmful salts that have deposited on the walls and Codussi’s precious Renaissance decoration while securing any deteriorated areas that are at risk of detaching. They will continue to monitor the site to determine what further treatments may be necessary to address the long-term effects that the flooding has had on the chapel.

Save Venice created the Immediate Response Fund (IRF) in partnership with the Italian Embassy for artistic heritage recovery after the second-worst acqua alta in Venice’s history in November 2019. The IRF has since provided vital support for emergency treatment of paintings, stonework, floors, wooden furnishings, and books and archival documents, as well as preventive conservation and equipment to fortify the city’s most vulnerable art and monuments against future extreme events. You can help Save Venice ensure a sustained reserve for emergency heritage relief, recovery, and preventative conservation.

Support the IRF