Restored in 2000 with funding from The James R. Dougherty, Jr. Foundation, through Beatrice Rossi-Landi, Trustee.

From the mid-1300s until 1834, the Pala d’Oro altarpiece in San Marco was flanked by two sculptures depicting the Archangel Gabriel and the Virgin Mary, which together represent the Annunciation. The attribution of these sculptures remains uncertain, but scholars have suggested that they are the work of Marco Romano, who was active in Venice around 1318 – 1320 in the circle of Giovanni Pisano. The marble figures are surprisingly naturalistic, and closely follow the model of Gothic sculpture produced in and around Florence and Rome during that period.

Gabriel’s wings are one of the few remaining examples of the metallic details attached to stone sculpture; they were made from a flat metal panel that was cut in the form of feathers and gilded. These figures rested on green porphyry columns, and the Pala d’Oro may have been attached to the capitals of these columns. Marks from a pulley system, which would have been used to lower and raise the painted covers of the altarpiece, can still be seen on the columns.

In 1847, the sculptures and columns were placed in the Treasury of the Basilica, where they are now displayed.

The sculptures were restored by conservators from the Seres restoration firm, with the guidance of project director Ettore Merkel of the Superintendency of Fine Arts of Venice.

For select projects, conservation dossiers in Italian containing limited textual and photographic documentation may be available for consultation by appointment at the Venice office of Save Venice and the Rosand Library & Study Center. For inquiries, please contact us at venice@savevenice.org.

Marco Romano (active late 13th–early 14th century) [attr.]
Annunciation (Archangel Gabriel; Virgin Mary)
c. 1320, marble
71 cm tall (Archangel Gabriel)
111 cm tall (Virgin Mary)

Basilica di San Marco: Homepage

Fulvio Zuliani, “The Annunciation by Marco Romano” (2001)