10.6092/issn.1973-9494/7959
The recent decision to convert the Benedictine Dormitory in Monreale into an exhibition site offers the opportunity to enjoy the whole monumental complex where the wonderful cloister is the core attraction. It is on this site that the Norman Cathedral stands, brightly decorated with golden mosaics. The new exhibition has gathered together the artworks from the ruined abbey of Santa Maria del Bosco in Calatamauro and added them to the artefacts already exhibited at the Diocesan Museum. They include marble gravestones from the 16th-17th century church and those dating to the 18th century; one stone is in polychrome marble of the family of the canons, Candes and Donato; another was used for the burial of the monks from the period of the Olivetan refoundation, characterized by the Order’s coat of arms and attributed to Girolamo Musca. There are also majolica tiles from the chapels in cornu evangelij (left side of the altar) adorned with large vegetal-shaped decorations, provided by Palermitan manufacturers in the mid-eighteenth century. They are found next to the remnants of the majolica tiles still in situ, executed in 1762 by the potters from Burgio, in Sicily. Rosario Rosso (also Russo) and Giuseppe Virgadamo. Also commissioned after the refoundation of the holy temple are the four artworks by the painter Ippolito Ferrante, three of which, Sacrificio di Isacco, Melchisedec and Giale e Sisar, are on exhibition in the prestigious museum. Alongside these artworks are noteworthy textile artefacts made between the second half of the 16th and second half of the 18th centuries some of which are linked to the munificent figures of archbishops such as Ludovico II Torres and Francesco Testa.
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1973-9494
7959
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Maurizio Vitella
Conservation Science in Cultural Heritage
virtual exhibition
The museum setup in the Benedictine dormitory of Monreale: the artworks of Santa Maria del Bosco and the textile artefacts of the Cathedral, Sicily, Italy
Text.Serial.Journal
https://conservation-science.unibo.it/
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Articles
2018-03-28
2018-03-27
2018-03-28
2019-09-06
223-240
CSCH
Maurizio Vitella
2017
10.6092/issn.1973-9494/7959
223
Department Culture e Società, University of Palermo
1973-9494
virtual exhibition
en
240
Schirò A. (1894), <em>Il monastero di Santa Maria del Bosco di Calatamauro in Sicilia. Memorie e documenti</em>, Palermo: Tipografia e legatoria del Boccone del Povero, p. 284.
The museum setup in the Benedictine dormitory of Monreale: the artworks of Santa Maria del Bosco and the textile artefacts of the Cathedral, Sicily, Italy
https://conservation-science.unibo.it/article/download/7959/7679
17
T HE MUSEUM SETUP IN THE BENEDICTINE DORMITORY
  OF MONREALE: THE ARTWORKS OF SANTA MARIA
DEL BOSCO AND THE TEXTILE ARTEFACTS OF THE
CATHEDRAL, SICILY, ITALY

   Maria Concetta di Natale*17M.C
   Department Culture e Società
   University of Palermo, Italy

   Maurizio Vitella
   Department Culture e Società
   University of Palermo, Italy


    Keywords: Diocesan Museum in Monreale; textile artefacts; museological project;
virtual exhibition.


   1. Introduction: the museological project

   Among the main functions of a museum is to recreate the original setting of the
artwork and reconstruct the environment in which it is placed. In the dormitory of the
Convent of the Benedictine Fathers in Monreale the relevant superintendency consid-
ered it appropriate to bring together the artworks from the ruined Abbey of Santa Maria
del Bosco in Calatamauro not yet included in the exhibition of the Diocesan Museum




                                                                                                    CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
in Monreale and the precious textile artefacts housed in the sacristy of the norman
Cathedral. The Museum, located in the archbishop’s palace, overlooks the Cloister
from the great Hall dedicated to San Placido allowing an uninterrupted visit from one
exhibition space to another and the itting reunion of all the works from Santa εaria
del Bosco.The artworks of the diocese of Monreale, already exhibited in the diocesan
museum have joined others taken from its deposits, thus enriching the halls of the Dor-
mitory. The Regional Superintendence is responsible for the halls, which have been
restored using scientiic criteria, the result of important museologic and museographic
input and a proitable collaboration. εy long-desired wish to reunite and exhibit once
more all the artworks from Santa Maria del Bosco in the monumental complex of the
Cathedral of εonreale, which includes the Diocesan εuseum, has been fulilled. It
also constitutes a further point of interest and an additional reason to visit not only the
Diocesan Museum of Monreale, but the entire complex of the Duomo.


   2. The artworks of Santa Maria del Bosco

  A sign that the artworks had been at Santa Maria del Bosco and were then dis-
persed and reused is provided by a stone portal with wooden doors which, after a short


* Corresponding author: mariaconcetta.dinatale@unipa.it

                                                                                              223
                                                                                               stay at the National Museum of Palermo, was moved to the cloister of the Palermitan
                                                                                               church of the Magione with an insertion that leaves no trace or memory of its original
                                                                                               location6. The valuable portal, described in 1894 by Father Atanasio Schirò7, bearing
                                                                                               an Olivetan coat of arms has recently been dated to the beginning of the sixteenth
                                                                                               century and attributed to Pietro Belverte. The portal was executed earlier than the door
                                                                                               and is decorated with igures of saints, bearing the date 1535 and attributed by Antonio
                                                                                               Cuccia to the Spanish scupltor of French origin, Juan de Juni.
                                                                                                  Among the artworks of Santa Maria del Bosco exhibited at the Diocesan Museum
                                                                                               are some fragments of marble sculptures situated at the entrance (Figure 1) and a
                                                                                               glazed terracotta tondo depicting the Madonna con il Bambino (Figure 2), better known
                                                                                               as the Madonna del Bosco, exhibited in the hall dedicated to Renaissance artworks,
                                                                                               where it is the main focal point8.
M.C. di Natale, M. Vitella - The museum setup in the Benedictine dormitory of Monreale




                                                                                               Figure 1. Marble fragments from the Abbey of Santa Maria del Bosco in Calatamauro, 16th and
                                                                                               18th centuries, Monreale Diocesan Museum.

                                                                                                   The artwork, dating back to the end of the ifteenth century, is mentioned in some
                                                                                               archive documents relating to the Benedictine abbey. It is described in general terms
                                                                                               in the 1666 inventory as “un tondo della Vergine SS.ma col suo cerchio solo d’argento”
                                                                                               [1] (transl. a tondo depicting the Virgin, her halo made entirely of silver).
                                                                                                   An earlier, more detailed description of the terracotta appears in the delivery re-
                                                                                               port dated June 17th, 1932, when the furnishings of the Nemorense church are hand-
                                                                                               ed over to the pro tempore archbishop of Monreale, Mons. Ernesto Eugenio Filippi
                                                                                               by the Provincial Inspector for the Fund for Religious Worship, Cavaliere (knight)
                                                                                               Ernesto Moretti. It describes a “statuetta in maiolica robbiana rafigurante la Vergine
                                                                                               con il Bambino Gesù, col fondo smaltato in azzurro: le imagini in bianco adorne di
                                                                                               dorature” [2] (transl. small glazed terracotta statue of the Virgin with the Infant Jesus,
                                                                                               in the style of Della Robbia, on a blue smalted background: the white images deco-
                                                                                               rated in gold).


                                                                                         224
Figure 2. Andrea della Robbia, Madonna col Bambino, late 15th century, glazed ceramics,
Monreale Diocesan Museum.




                                                                                                     CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
    In a later record dated 1 July 1934, the artefact was attributed to the school of Andrea
della Robbia, an attribution which is still valid today, after being attributed at one point
to his brother δucaν the inal attribution was made because the statue was “caratteriz-
zato da motivi descrittivi e sentimentali legati alla gestualità affettuosa della Madonna
e del Bambino rafigurato sempre alla sua destra, oltre che per la vivacità espressiva
del Bambino e la rafinata bellezza della εadonna che si distinguono dall’austerità e
severità dell’opera di Luca Robbia […] e per l’uso della doratura a freddo maggior-
mente utilizzata da Andrea” [3] (transl. characterized by descriptive and sentimental
motifs related to the affectionate gestures of the Madonna and the Child who is always
depicted on her right, as well as by his expressive vivacity and the reined beauty of the
Madonna which distinguish themselves from the austerity and severity used by Luca
Robbia in his work […] and the cold-gilding used mostly by Andrea).
    From the same site and exhibited in the same room, come the reined marble tiles
depicting the Passion of Christ (Figure 3) attributed to a Sicilian sculptor of the late
17th - early 18th century. The precious artworks were placed in the irst chapel on
the right of the ancient abbey and, as Father Athanasius Schirò observed, they were
executed “con tale inezza ed espressione d’arte che lo sguardo erra meraviglioso
come l’ingegno e la mano dell’uomo arrivino a dare tale movenza all’inerte marmo” [4]
(transl. with such artistic inesse and expression, it was a marvel how the genius and
hand of man was able to give movement to the inert marble).



                                                                                               225
M.C. di Natale, M. Vitella - The museum setup in the Benedictine dormitory of Monreale




                                                                                               Figure 3. Unknown Sicilian sculptor, Flagellazione and the Caduta di Cristo sotto la Croce, third
                                                                                               quarter of 18th century, carved marble, Monreale Diocesan Museum.

                                                                                                  The countless works of art kept in the monumental complex of Santa Maria del
                                                                                               Bosco, included the prestigious bust of Eleonora D’Aragona by Francesco Laurana
                                                                                               which, over the centuries has experienced several sad vicissitudes. Today it is one of
                                                                                               the masterpieces housed in the Regional Gallery of Sicily of Palazzo Abatellis. The
                                                                                               second founding of the abbey Church, aggregated to the order of the Benedictines
                                                                                               of Monte Oliveto in 1491, dates back to the years 1583-1588 and was ordered at the
                                                                                               behest of the Abbots, Giulio della Cava, Ambrogio da Palermo, Olimpio da Giuliana,
                                                                                               Geronimo da Corleone9.
                                                                                                  Third in chronological order, the construction of the present-day church, started in
                                                                                               1634, was only completed in the two-year period from 1777-1779 and saw the partici-
                                                                                               pation of famous architects, such as Vanvitelli and Marvuglia10. The nave continued
                                                                                               to be embellished with gilding in the stuccos until 1781. In 1794, due to the expulsion
                                                                                               of the Olivetan Fathers, the Augustinian fathers took over, but they would suffer the
                                                                                               subversive laws of 186611.
                                                                                                  The church also sparkled with “marmi eccellenti di Carrara, di verde, diaspro, e
                                                                                               giallo antico, di sardoniche, carniole, di Porto venere e jalino diafano e rilucente intrec-
                                                                                               ciati a vaghi disegni” [5] (transl. excellent marbles from Carrara, in green, jasper, and
                                                                                               old-fashioned yellow, cargneule, from Porto Venere and clear ialino and brightly shin-
                                                                                               ing braids in vague patterns) and great agate slabs extracted from the feudal territory
                                                                                               of Giancavallo12, a variety of marbles also noted in numerous archival documents.
                                                                                               To make the high altar of the eighteenth-century church, for instance, the Palermitan
                                                                                               marmorari (marble workers) Ignazio and Geronimo Mosca13 used agate and jasper
                                                                                               from Giuliana of different colours and “tutte quelle fette di pietra agata che attualmente
                                                                                               stanno segando li quattro maestri segatori in Giancavallo” [6] (transl. all those pieces
                                                                                               of agate that the four master stone cutters are sawing in Giancavallo).
                                                                                                  The monastic church has fortunately preserved some noteworthy marble tomb-
                                                                                               stones that are now on display in the museum. They include those from the 16th-17th


                                                                                         226
century church, respectively belonging to the Azzolina family and that of the rector
Giuseppe Manna, laid down in 1620 by one of his relatives, Caterina Baronio, and the
18th century tombstone in various marbles, of the family of the canons, Candes and
Donato14. The tombstone used for the burial of the monks, characterized by inlaid ele-
ments that incorporate the coat of arms of the Order and below which is an inscription
engraved on a drape-shaped cartouche, can be attributed to the time of the Olivetan
Refoundation15 and is attributed by Zalapì to the Muscas, who probably made it be-
tween 1770 and 1771.
    Girolamo Musca is also the author of the fragments of polychrome marbles enriched
by rocaille decorations from the altar of the Beato Bernardo of the monastic church,
executed by the Palermitan marble worker between 1774-1776. Instead, the fragment
of the altar balustrade in polychrome marbles from the presbytery area of the sacred
building dates back to the late 18th - early 19th century.
    The abbey church was also preciously enriched by numerous sculptures and paint-
ings, some of which have been traced to different locations by Mariny Guttilla16. Three
paintings, part of a series of four artworks related to the eighteenth-century “Refounda-
tion” period, which today are displayed in the museum, were commissioned from the
painter Ippolito Ferrante, as recorded in a payment dated 8th August 1765: Sacriicio
di Isacco, Melchisedec e Giale e Sisar. Also on display at the same site is the painting
mentioned in the 1934 delivery report of the furnishings of the Nemorense church de-
scribed as “vescovo alla presenza d’un imperatore”[7] (transl. bishop in the presence
of an emperor).
    Still housed at the Archbishop’s Palace is the Santa Rosalia guidata dagli angeli,
painted in 1766 by the artist Vito D’Anna (1718-1769), with signature and date, which
presents the Palermitan virgin in pilgrim’s clothes, crowned with roses and accompa-
nied by two angels who guide her on the way to the Quisquina. The painting, probably
commissioned by a private individual, as emerges from the documentary research by
Angheli Zalapì, was taken from the painter’s house to Santa Maria del Bosco where a




                                                                                                  CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
chapel was dedicated to the patron saint of the nearby center of Bisacquino and of the
Palermo, later embellished with a “davanzale […] d’agata” (transl. ledge […] in agate),
which has, unfortunately, been lost.
    Other interesting paintings from the Benedictine abbey are kept in the Regional
Gallery of Sicily in Palazzo Abatellis. Among them are Il beato Bernardo Tolomei alla
peste di Siena, an art work signed by Mariano Rossi, which was probably a companion
piece to the painting of Saint Francesca Romana by the same Rossi; the Assunzione
della Vergine of the Roman painter Pietro Paolo Panci; the Assunzione in cielo di santa
Scolastica tra i santi Benedetto, Mauro e Placido by Pietro Angeletti, a pupil of Stefano
Pozzi, with the same subject as the canvas painted by Mariano Rossi for the monastic
church of the Benedictine Order of St. Nicholas of Bisacquino.
    Temporarily housed in the Cathedral of Monreale is the Madonna della cintura con
Sant’Agostino e santa Monica, the so-called Madonna della consolazione by Salvatore
Lo Forte and Giovan Battista Carini.
    Another painting from the ancient abbey depicting the Holy Family is preserved
at Villa Whitaker (seat of the Prefecture). In the delivery report of 17th June 1932, the
artwork is generally attributed to the workshop of the Postiglione, but was probably
executed by Raffaele, the most accredited of the brothers. The reined alabaster sculp-
ture of the Madonna del Rosario tra i Santi Domenico and Benedetto by a sculptor from
Trapani of the late16th - early 17th century is also housed at the Villa.


                                                                                            227
                                                                                                   The numerous decorative wooden elements must have been of great artistic value.
                                                                                               One such example is the choir, restored in 1844 by the Agostiniani Fathers17, which
                                                                                               was commissioned on March 28th, 1763 from the carpenter Giuseppe Pezzano (or
                                                                                               Persano)18 after a public tender with participants such as Giuseppe Zappulla19 and
                                                                                               Rocco Ribaudo20. The latter is the author of the main door of the church and the lost
                                                                                               confessionals executed in 1766. The choir, created on the design of the architect Gi-
                                                                                               useppe Venanzio Marvuglia, was dismantled and placed in the right wing of the former
                                                                                               convent, but must have been similar to the one still existing in the Palermitan church of
                                                                                               San Giuseppe ai Teatini21. An ancient photographic reproduction also testiies to the el-
                                                                                               egance of the sacristy furniture of the abbey of Santa Maria del Bosco di Calatamauro
                                                                                               made in 1777 by the woodcarvers Giuseppe and Francesco Chiofalo da Partanna,
                                                                                               and Domenico di Lorenzo, based on the design of a Marabitti, probably Giuseppe22,
                                                                                               with the participation of the sculptor from Trapani, Pietro Luparello23, who probably also
M.C. di Natale, M. Vitella - The museum setup in the Benedictine dormitory of Monreale




                                                                                               made the statues of the Saints resting on shelves: Bernardo da Chiaravalle, Biagio,
                                                                                               Benedetto, Bernardo Tolomei, Mauro and Anselmo24.
                                                                                                   The Olivetan fathers had always paid great attention to liturgical furnishings which,
                                                                                               for the most part, have unfortunately gone missing. It is therefore disheartening when
                                                                                               comparing the many lists of sacred silverware that appear in the inventories and the
                                                                                               numerous documentary annotations25; from the artworks made in 1606 by the gold-
                                                                                               smith Pietro di Capua to those made in 1615 by the silversmith Francesco Dixidomi-
                                                                                               no26. Artists who created artworks for the abbey in the eighteenth century include Pietro
                                                                                               Magrì, whose activity is documented in Chiusa Sclafani (a town near Palermo) and
                                                                                               worked for the Benedictine abbey in 1735, and the Palermitan Francesco Nicchi, who
                                                                                               was there in 174827.
                                                                                                   Other famous silversmiths from Palermo participated in enriching the collection of
                                                                                               silver artworks in the second half of the eighteenth century and was followed by the
                                                                                               deinition of the new church. In the years 1775-1776, Felice di Filippo28 provided “sei
                                                                                               corone di piangia d’argento del quadro della Sagra Famiglia” [8] (transl. six silver-
                                                                                               plated crowns of the picture of the Holy Family). In 1770, Michele Messina29 made
                                                                                               “due cornacopj d’argento da situarsi innanzi la macchinetta della Vergine Santissima”
                                                                                               (transl. two silver cornucopias to be placed before the machine of the Blessed Virgin)
                                                                                               and also provided “il rame dorato ed oro di zecchino per il tabernacolo dell’altare mag-
                                                                                               giore della chiesa di detto monastero tutto fondato di getto” [9] (transl. gilded copper
                                                                                               and pure gold for the tabernacle of the high altar of the said monastery church, all jet
                                                                                               cast). In 1777, Antonino Barrile30 was given the task of manufacturing “una croce con
                                                                                               tre monti d’argento di Palermo, bollato di pezzo in pezzo, e due rami di ulivo allato di
                                                                                               detti monti che formano l’armi della Religione olivetana di detto venerabile monastero”
                                                                                               (transl. “a cross with three mountains made from silver in the Palermo mint, stamped
                                                                                               piece by piece, and two olive branches next to the said mountains that form the coat-
                                                                                               of-arms of the Olivetan Order of the said venerable monastery), for the high altar31,
                                                                                               subsequently providing also six silver reliquaries, including that of Santa Francesca
                                                                                               Romana, “un discolo e piange d’un messale”[10].
                                                                                                   The hypothesis of relocating the artworks to the original location for which they had
                                                                                               been conceived and where they responded to speciic historical-artistic and liturgical-
                                                                                               devotional functions was impossible, even for a temporary exhibition; and any hy-
                                                                                               pothesis to recompose the whole as it was originally, in harmony with the restored
                                                                                               architectural container, is utopian. The surviving works of art that have been recovered
                                                                                               and already destined for the diocesan Museum of Monreale, are now exhibited in the


                                                                                         228
dormitory of the cloister (Figure 4). However, for the research and the overall recompo-
sition of the monument not to stop and yield positive results, thanks to the possibilities
offered by digital technology, an ephemeral virtual recontextualization of the existing
works of art can be envisaged. Inside this virtual reconstruction the objects would all be
repositioned in the architectural building as it is today and, using modern instruments,
projected in their original position and inside the halls of the convent dormitory which
overlooks the cloister of the Duomo of Monreale. Although the work in the church is
incomplete and its restoration is ongoing, the works of art that once admirably comple-
mented the architectural structure, are also incomplete or missing. However, the op-
portunities to virtually enjoy the monumental complex, are manifold.




                                                                                                     CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
Figure 4. Monreale, former Benedictine dormitory, new museum setup (photo by Dario Di
Vincenzo).

    After presenting an initial overall view of the church in its present state, a series of
virtual images could follow showing the same view complete with works of art, includ-
ing paintings and sculptures, presented on their original altars. This kind of virtual
reconstruction is possible thanks to the detailed descriptions obtained from printed
texts, manuscripts and archival research. The recomposition of the marble fragments
on display at the Diocesan εuseum of εonreale, in particular, could play a signiicant
part in presenting the Chapel of the Passion with its bas-reliefs related to Christological
scenes. It would be interesting to show, irst of all, the actual fragmentary state of the
Chapel’s elements followed by a virtual picture showing successive images that gradu-
ally recompose the marble fragments, inally repositioning them in the chapel adorned
with the remnants of the stuccoes that were once part of the whole decoration. The
church could thus be virtually repaved in the same way, replicating the small remnants
of majolica tiles still in situ several times. The tiles were made in 1762 by the potters
from Burgio, Rosario Rosso (Russo) and Giuseppe Virgadamo, while those made at


                                                                                               229
                                                                                               an earlier date were probably produced by Palermitan manufacturers and in part taken
                                                                                               from the chapels (in cornu evangelj), adorned with large vegetal-shaped decorations,
                                                                                               exhibited in the dormitory of Monreale. Some valuable samples from the second half
                                                                                               of the sixteenth century, with virile igures and a sailing ship, the work of majolica mak-
                                                                                               ers of that time from Sciacca, are still kept in the chapel of San Michele, situated on
                                                                                               the irst loor of the monastic building, adjacent to the abbatial apartments. The best
                                                                                               majolica makers were employed to work at the abbey, such as the brothers, Vito and
                                                                                               Leonardo Lo Bue, who were there in 1606 and active in Sciacca and Palermo32. Anoth-
                                                                                               er example of a majolica loor with phytomorphic decoration, the work of seventeenth
                                                                                               century masters from Sciacca and still in place in the aforesaid chapel, could also be
                                                                                               represented virtually, to testify to the variety of artefacts the center produced. The ma-
                                                                                               jolica masters from Palermo and Sciacca were replaced in the late eighteenth century
                                                                                               by workers from Burgio, who produced geometric and phytomorphic decorated loorsν
M.C. di Natale, M. Vitella - The museum setup in the Benedictine dormitory of Monreale




                                                                                               these could also become the subject matter for further virtual renderings.
                                                                                                   It would also be of extreme interest to see a virtual image of the previously mentioned
                                                                                               valuable glazed terracotta, on the original altar inserted “in un’edicola ornata da quattro
                                                                                               colonnette di jalino” [11] (transl. in an aedicula adorned with four small jalino columns).
                                                                                               The work of art was once adorned with silver crowns, made in 1716, as evidenced in a
                                                                                               photographic reproduction kept in the diocesan archive of the Norman town.
                                                                                                   There would nevertheless be considerable gaps and missing pieces in many works
                                                                                               of art whose memory remains only in the long lists found in the ancient, dusty, but
                                                                                               precious, inventories. Perhaps at a later date, in some cases, a virtual presentation
                                                                                               for the most signiicant artworks can be created in which there are informative texts
                                                                                               and where possible, also give indications specifying, when identiiable, their original
                                                                                               location and their liturgical function, as well as the history of its devotion through the
                                                                                               centuries.
                                                                                                   By following a virtual path through the monumental complex, it would be possible
                                                                                               to provide essential historical news about the structure and surviving artworks, in ad-
                                                                                               dition to those that are only remembered in documentary sources. An in-depth analy-
                                                                                               sis, if requested by the user, could also include details about the authors, painters
                                                                                               and sculptors, the stonecutters, marble workers and carpenters, the goldsmiths and
                                                                                               silversmiths, the majolica workers and even the embroiderers. The importance of the
                                                                                               decorative works of art of the church and the liturgical furnishings already preserved
                                                                                               in the sacristy could re-emerge by providing a description of the richness and variety
                                                                                               obtained from the documentary research. This could then be complemented by exam-
                                                                                               ining archival indications and studies on the surviving artworks which, in the past, has
                                                                                               often led to modest craftsmen, skilled masters and great artists being remembered
                                                                                               after centuries of obscurity33. The incredible imbalance between the richness of the
                                                                                               liturgical furnishings and the sacred vestments described in documentary sources and
                                                                                               the scarceness of surviving artefacts can once again be aided by digital technology;
                                                                                               in this case, by reconstructing, even if only graphically, the styles of the furnishings
                                                                                               listed in the different inventories. The richness of the sacred silverware, furnishings
                                                                                               and surviving liturgical vestments in the area of the Diocese of Monreale can also
                                                                                               provide examples similar to those noted in the inventories of the abbey of Santa Maria
                                                                                               del Bosco, most of them produced by skillful Palermitan masters and could be used to
                                                                                               supply a picture of the missing objects in the Dormitory.




                                                                                         230
   3. The textile artefacts

    The textile artefacts selected for the new museum exhibition in the former dormitory
of the Benedictine complex conirm the wealth of silk heritage that exists in Sicily. They
represent yet another testimony of the multicultural climate that has distinguished this
speciic sector of the decorative arts which, at times, has been enriched by precious
imports and at others by original designs that have a strong character that is typically
insular. Two tunics dating back to the late sixteenth century are a sign of Sicily’s central
Mediterranean dimension. They are owned by the Norman cathedral and were origi-
nally part of the liturgical garments belonging to Bishop Ludovico Torres II, head of the
diocese from January 22nd, 1588, to July 8th, 1609. The green coloured dalmatic pro-
poses a chromatic variation of the purple vestment already on display at the Diocesan
Museum of Monreale34 and on which a coat of arms with ive towers is applied. The
sacred robe has a design of identical structure, - resembling “mesh netting”- in addition
to the same weave of warps and wefts that give life to a brocatel with overshot designs.
The pattern which decorates the fabric has a symmetrical design, organized in an in-
tense composition that crowds the fabric, consisting of a chessboard-like alternation of
decorations with cross-shaped contours or a polylobed conformation. This original and
characteristic construction, as well as the chromatic solution, with its bright tones, de-
notes a strong islamic inluence, identiiable in the vigorous stylization of vegetal pat-
terns, combined with an energetic graphic rendering. In addition, as Roberta Civiletto
has noted, the presence of the polylobed mesh and the star-shaped igure echoes “the
oldest textile production in Granada, known as Alhambra style, characterized by geo-
metrical compositions, intertwined polygons, octagons and a succession of bands”35.
    The other tunic (Figure 5), with a white background must also be attributed to Ibe-
rian manufacture.




                                                                                                       CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE




Figure 5. Spanish manufacture, tunic (tonacella), second half of 16th century, overshot lampas
textile with two wefts, Monreale, former Benedictine dormitory, Duomo.


                                                                                                 231
                                                                                                   The extremely interesting design module, dating from the second half of the six-
                                                                                               teenth century, is also a net of meshes. Arranged in a chessboard pattern, they are
                                                                                               made up of four-lobed contours formed by acanthus-shaped vines whose branches,
                                                                                               with their curvilinear pattern, form a convex pointed arch. The lattice pattern is illed
                                                                                               with stylized botanical species on which two birds ly opposite each other. Each
                                                                                               tangent point in the mesh is marked by a crown with an open and lilied pediment.
                                                                                               This setting for the pattern recalls designs found on fabrics attributed to Spanish
                                                                                               manufacture, such as the 16th century fragment of the historical Museum of Textile
                                                                                               in Lyon studied by Donata Devoti36. The presence of the birds facing each other
                                                                                               is a fascinating element and an ornamental motif of ancient middle eastern tradi-
                                                                                               tion commonly used in the Islamic world. The contextual presence of the birds,
                                                                                               interspersed by stylized phytomorphic elements, is an iconographic element that is
                                                                                               largely used in the repertory of ornaments applied to various decorative art objects
M.C. di Natale, M. Vitella - The museum setup in the Benedictine dormitory of Monreale




                                                                                               produced in the arab Tiraz, symbolically interpreted as an expression of goodwill
                                                                                               due to the presence of the birds, symbols of power and regality, and the botanical
                                                                                               element, to be interpreted as the tree of life37. Both sacred robes can therefore be
                                                                                               identiied as attesting to that Mudejar repertory that contaminates Western decora-
                                                                                               tive systems with Islamic preexistences: the geometrical appearance of the green
                                                                                               robe and the birds in the white robe are a clear expression of the persistence of a
                                                                                               Muslim heritage which engages with the reticular layout of western stamp, in an
                                                                                               original and successful conjunction.
                                                                                                   The other vestments included in the exhibition are an evident manifestation of post-
                                                                                               Counter-Reformation triumphalism and attest to the ostentatious opulence shown in
                                                                                               the way the ecclesiastical buildings were adorned and the Eucharist was celebrated
                                                                                               between the 17th and 18th centuries. The two embroidered chasubles, one a poly-
                                                                                               chrome, (Figure 6A), the other in silver thread on a blue background (Figure 6B), en-
                                                                                               tirely of Sicilian craftsmanship, honor the mastery of local embroiderers, accustomed
                                                                                               to interpreting what was proposed by the contemporary fabrics produced at that time.
                                                                                               The chasuble, decorated using needle painting embroidery38 stands out for its reined
                                                                                               loral elements and the lively chromatic effect that comes from the contrast between
                                                                                               the blue and the red inserted in the gold.
                                                                                                   The technique is one of the peculiarities of Sicilian polychrome embroidery, often re-
                                                                                               proposed through the use of a single pattern to which small variations were made both
                                                                                               in the drawing and in the use of threads. In this regard, the same embroidery pattern is
                                                                                               evident in another chasuble of the Diocesan Museum of Monreale39 in which, instead,
                                                                                               a gold thread prevails. This analogy conirms what has already been highlighted in
                                                                                               other contexts by Elvira D’ Amico40 regarding the circulation of preparatory cartoons
                                                                                               that were used to prepare needlework embellishments, with decorative variants, to be
                                                                                               applied to different liturgical vestments. The other sacred robe, which stands out for the
                                                                                               reined contrast between the blue background and the bright moon-like shimmer of the
                                                                                               silver thread, conirms the derivation of the decorations from the repertory of designs
                                                                                               used for the fabrics: the Sicilian workers, inspired by the patterns of the precious bro-
                                                                                               cade fabrics imported from France, knew well how to take out the decorative details
                                                                                               and blend them into an original and sumptuous whole. A close look at the embroidery
                                                                                               reveals that the characteristic gigantism of the loral elements has its ascendant in the
                                                                                               so-called Revel fabrics produced in Lyon, which established themselves on the Euro-
                                                                                               pean market in the irst thirty years of the eighteenth century.



                                                                                         232
Figure 6. (A) Sicilian manufacture, chasuble (pianeta), irst half of 18th century, satin embroidered
with polychrome silk threads, Monreale, former Benedictine dormitory, already at the Diocesan
εuseum deposit. (B) Sicilian manufacture, chasuble (pianeta), irst half of 18th century, gros de
tours (ribbed silk fabric) embroidered with silver thread, Monreale, former Benedictine dormitory,
already at the Diocesan Museum deposit.

   Four altar-frontals complete the exhibition of textile artifacts, once used to enrich
the altars in particular solemnities. Two of them come from the church of the Trinity in




                                                                                                             CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
Monreale, annexed to the College of Mary, an ecclesiastical building with a particu-
lar octagonal plan. Their original provenance suggests a monastic manufacture, as
was often the prerogative for these valuable artifacts. Both artefacts are enriched by
sumptuous embroidery which, following a symmetrical and specular arrangement in a
horizontal direction, occupies the entire surface of the underlying fabric. However, in
the altar-frontal embroidered in a pictorial manner (Figure 7) a division of the space
into two sections is visible: an upper one, to simulate the rich fold of a hypothetical altar
tablecloth with scalloped perimeterν and a lower one, occupied by various loral typolo-
gies whose stylization is clearly inspired by the bizarre decorative motifs that adorned
the fabrics of the irst twenty years of the eighteenth century.
   The same inspiration is also perceived in the other altar-frontal (Figure 8), charac-
terized by the strong chromatic contrast between the yellow taffeta in the background
and the exuberant embroidery in silver thread. In this case, the sinuous development
of the branches, with which botanical species of a fanciful rendering intersect, seems
to be directed towards elements that are a prelude to the Rococo style.
   Finally, the other pair of frontals in ciselé velvet (Figure 9), characterized by the same
design with a large central vase and proposed in the variants of the liturgical colours
green and red, afirms the attention reserved for the precious high altar of the εonreale
Cathedral. Built between 1768 and 1775 by Luigi Valadier, a genius of 18th century
goldsmith art whose fame resounded internationally, the holy silver table was commis-
sioned by the Archbishop, Francesco Testa41. The execution of the two valuable silk


                                                                                                       233
                                                                                               artefacts is to be attributed to the muniicence of the high prelateμ an annotation made
                                                                                               in 1767, in a 1763 inventory42 reports that “(…) un Paliotto in velluto cremisi riscagnato
                                                                                               e fatto a disegno con il fondo d’argento per l’Altare Maggiore. Più altri quattro paliotti di
                                                                                               velluto riscagnato cioè uno bianco con fondo d’oro, altro verde con fondo d’oro, altro
                                                                                               violaceo con fondo d’oro ed altro nero con fondo d’argento (…)” (transl. an altarpiece
                                                                                               in crimson ciselé velvet and designed with a silver background for the High Altar. Plus
                                                                                               four other ciselé velvet frontals, that is, one white with a gold background, another green
                                                                                               with a gold background, another purple with a gold background and another black with
                                                                                               a silver background) were made at the expense of Archbishop Testa. Therefore, the
                                                                                               documentary indication suggests a dating of the frontals between 1765 and 1767 and,
                                                                                               considering the Roman origin of the stunning silver altar, it is reasonable to assume an
                                                                                               Italian manufacturing area, also by virtue of the high quality of the execution.
M.C. di Natale, M. Vitella - The museum setup in the Benedictine dormitory of Monreale




                                                                                               Figure 7. Sicilian manufacture, frontal, irst half of 18th century, satin embroidered with polychrome
                                                                                               silk threads, Monreale, former Benedictine dormitory, already at the Church of the Trinità al
                                                                                               Collegio di Maria.


                                                                                                  4. Conclusions

                                                                                                  The current exhibition, set up in the Benedictine dormitory of Monreale, enhances
                                                                                               an important corpus of artworks, enriching the enjoyment of visitors to the great monu-
                                                                                               mental complex. However, the artefacts in the textile collection, for obvious reasons of
                                                                                               conservation, will be subject to periodic rotation, thus offering the possibility of using
                                                                                               the great collection of precious silk artefacts kept in the Diocesan Museum’s deposit
                                                                                               and in the Cathedral’s sacristy. Instead, it is hoped that the number of artefacts from
                                                                                               the abbey of Santa Maria del Bosco will increase in number, not only with the addition
                                                                                               of the furnishings at present kept in other institutions, but also by considering the use
                                                                                               of tecnological devices which, though only virtual, will make the rich patrimony once
                                                                                               owned by the Olivetan monks, known to a wider public.


                                                                                         234
Figure 8. Sicilian manufacture, frontal, irst half of 18th century, taffetas embroidered with silver
thread, Monreale, former Benedictine dormitory, already at the Church of the Trinità al Collegio
di Maria.




                                                                                                             CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE




Figure 9. Roman manufacture, frontal, 1765-1767, voided velvet with one pile warp, ciselé, in
overshot weave, Monreale, former Benedictine dormitory, Duomo.




                                                                                                       235
                                                                                                  Notes
                                                                                               1
                                                                                                  The traveller Ibn Gyubair, in 1184, described the Palazzo Reale in Palermo and, in particular,
                                                                                               what one presumes was its “green room”: “[…]We went through squares, gates, royal courtyards
                                                                                               and saw splendid palaces, well-laid out exedras, gardens and rooms for public oficials, things to
                                                                                               dazzle one’s eyes and astonish one’s mind… apart from other things we noticed a hall in a large
                                                                                               courtyard surrounded by a garden and lanked by porticoes. The hall takes up the whole of the
                                                                                               courtyard, to the extent that we marvelled at its size, the height of the belvederes. We discovered
                                                                                               that this was the place where the king usually dined with his retinue. Opposite were the afore-
                                                                                               mentioned porticoes and the ofices where the magistrates, public oficials and the inance agents
                                                                                               sat […]”.
                                                                                               2
                                                                                                 The authors wish to thank Würth srl most heartily for their cooperation in consenting the use of
                                                                                               images taken from the site archives, as well as the restoration-site operations management and
                                                                                               the sole project manager.
                                                                                                 A temporary entrepreneurial association (ATI) was set up between the irms “εartino Solito res-
M.C. di Natale, M. Vitella - The museum setup in the Benedictine dormitory of Monreale




                                                                                               3

                                                                                               tauratore s.r.l.” (group chief), “Consorzio C.B. ART” of Marina Furci, “Studio C.R.C. S.r.l.” of Paolo
                                                                                               Pastorello, Carla Tomasi and Sergio Salvati.
                                                                                               4
                                                                                                  This opening was attributed to transformations undergone by the northern nave between 1786
                                                                                               and 1795, for the construction of an access stairway to the Astronomical Observatory; see [4].
                                                                                               5
                                                                                                  In 1891, on the occasion of the Esposizione Nazionale held in Palermo, the pavilions designed
                                                                                               by Ernesto Basile housed three wooden models of the ceiling, today conserved at the Accademia
                                                                                               di Belle Arti in Palermo. In 18λ3 Alexis Pavlosklij published the irst thorough and precise analysis
                                                                                               of the stylistic features of the ceiling, as well as an Islamic attribution for the pictorial cycle.
                                                                                               6
                                                                                                  Cuccia A. (2006), La porta lignea di Calatamauro, 1535. Ipotesi del viaggio in Italia di Juan De
                                                                                               Junì, in Marchese A.G. (Ed.), L’abbazia di Santa Maria del Bosco di Calatamauro, tra memoria e
                                                                                               recupero, introduction by C. Naro, Palermo: Provincia Regionale, pp. 253-277. Also see Cuccia
                                                                                               A. (2009), scheda I. 4-5, in Guttilla M. (Ed.), Tesori ritrovati 1968-2008 storia e cultura artistica
                                                                                               nell’abbazia di Santa Maria del Bosco di Calatamauro e nel suo territorio dal XII al XIX secolo, s.l.:
                                                                                               Di Nicolò Edizioni, pp. 84-87, with previous bibliography.
                                                                                               7
                                                                                                  Schirò A. (1894), Il monastero di Santa Maria del Bosco di Calatamauro in Sicilia. Memorie e
                                                                                               documenti, Palermoμ Tipograia e legatoria del Boccone del Povero, p. 52.
                                                                                               8
                                                                                                  Reginella M. (2001), scheda I,11, in Gloria Patri. L’arte come linguaggio del sacro, Monreale-
                                                                                               Palermo: Curia Arcivescovile di Monreale - Regione Siciliana, pp. 66-67; Mazzè A. (2006), C’era
                                                                                               una statua nel Bosco… La Terracotta robbiana della “Madonna col Bambino”, in Marchese A.G.
                                                                                               (Ed.), L’Abbazia di Santa Maria…, pp. 245-252. Margiotta R.F. (2006), Le arti applicate nell’Abba-
                                                                                               zia di Santa Maria del Bosco di Calatamauro. Note storiche e documenti, in Marchese A.G. (Ed.),
                                                                                               L’Abbazia di Santa Maria…, pp. 300-301; G. Davì (2009), Le robbiane di Sicilia: la Madonna col
                                                                                               Bambino di Santa Maria del Bosco e scheda I.3, in Guttilla M. (Ed.), Tesori ritrovati…, pp. 82-83.
                                                                                               On the patrimony of decorative art of the ancient abbey see also Di Natale M.C. (2009), Per un
                                                                                               nuovo splendore a Santa Maria del Bosco. Il patrimonio nascosto di Arti Decorative: proposte per
                                                                                               un itinerario espositivo, in Guttilla M. (Ed.), Tesori ritrovati…, p. 16-21, 23- 27, catalogue to which
                                                                                               to refer to for the records of the artworks and the documentary information reported in the paper
                                                                                               by Angheli Zalapì (Il cantiere olivetano della chiesa nuova: fonti e documenti) and the related
                                                                                               appendix.
                                                                                               9
                                                                                                  See Arcadipane N., Balletta S., Miceli L. (1991), Le pergamene del monastero di santa Maria
                                                                                               del Bosco di Calatamauro (1264-1763), Palermo: Ila Palma, p. 17; P. Olimpio da Giuliana (1995),
                                                                                               Memorie antiche del monastero di santa Maria del Bosco. Manoscritto del 1582 postillato da Tor-
                                                                                               quato Tasso, A.G. Marchese (ed.), Palermo: Ila Palma, pp. 104-105. Also see Schirò A. (1894), Il
                                                                                               monastero…, pp. 264, 281.
                                                                                               10
                                                                                                   Guttilla M. (2006), Santa Maria del Bosco: Collezione pittorica e riferimenti culturali nel tardo
                                                                                               Settecento, in Marchese A.G. (Ed.), L’Abbazia di Santa Maria…, pp. 283-298, with previous bi-
                                                                                               bliography; Zalapì A. (2009), Il cantiere olivetano…, in Guttilla M. (Ed.), Tesori ritrovati…, p. 70.
                                                                                               11
                                                                                                   A. Schirò (1894), Il monastero…, pp. 290-299.
                                                                                               12
                                                                                                   A. Schirò (1894), Il monastero…, p. 285.
                                                                                               13
                                                                                                   About the Musca see Ruggieri Tricoli M.C. and Pizzuto G. (2014), in Di Natale M.C. (Ed.), Arti


                                                                                         236
decorative in Sicilia. Dizionario biograico, vol. II, Palermo: Novecento, ad vocem.
14
   For the artworks see E. D’Amico, soon to be published.
15
   Guttilla M. (2009), La palma e la corona. Cultura artistica del secondo Settecento a Santa Maria
del Bosco, in Guttilla M. (Ed.), Tesori ritrovati…, pp. 36-37.
16
   Guttilla M. (2009), La palma e la corona… and Dipinti inediti o poco noti del Settecento tra Con-
tessa e Bisacquino da Filippo Randazzo a Mariano Rossi, in Guttilla M. (Ed.), Tesori ritrovati…,
pp. 32-47.
17
   Schirò A. (1894), Il monastero…, p. 289. On the church furnishings also see Zalapì A. (2009), Il
cantiere olivetano…, in Guttilla M. (Ed.), Tesori ritrovati…, pp. 67- 69.
18
   On the Pezzano see Palazzotto P. (2001), Per uno studio sulla maestranza dei Falegnami di
Palermo, in Di Natale M.C. (Ed.), Splendori di Sicilia. Arti decorative dal Rinascimento al Barocco,
exhibition catalogue, Milano: Edizioni Charta, p. 697.
19
   On the Zappulla, Palermitan carpenters related to the Marvuglia family, see Ruggieri Tricoli
M.C. - De Marco B. (2014), in Di Natale M.C. (Ed.), Arti decorative…, II, ad vocem.
20
   Zalapì A. (2009), Il cantiere olivetano…, in Guttilla M. (Ed.), Tesori ritrovati…, 2009, p. 68. Also
see Appendix (2009)..., in Guttilla M. (Ed.), Tesori ritrovati…, pp. 220, 222, 223.
21
   Zalapì A. (2009), Il cantiere olivetano…, in Guttilla M. (Ed.), Tesori ritrovati…, 2009, p. 68.
22
   A Giuseppe Marabitti is reported for paintings on wood and gilding at the palace of the prince
of Belmonte in Palermo, where he was directed by Giuseppe Venanzio Marvuglia, an architect
active in the construction site of Santa Maria del Bosco in those years. See Ruggieri Tricoli M.C.
and De Marco B. (2014), in Di Natale M.C. (Ed.), Arti decorative…, II, ad vocem Marabitti.
23
   On the artist see Sarullo L. (1994), Dizionario degli artisti siciliani, vol. III, Scultura, Patera B.
(Ed), Palermo: Novecento, ad vocem.
24
   Zalapì A. (2009), Il cantiere olivetano…, in Guttilla M. (Ed.), Tesori ritrovati…, p. 68.
25
   From the documentary research and the discovery of some valuable silver liturgic furnishings
by Margiotta Rosalia Francesca (2006) (Le arti applicate nell’Abbazia…, in Marchese A.G. (Ed.),
L’Abbazia di Santa Maria…, pp. 299-312) the presence of important silversmiths’ artworks is
clear, a well as the privilege for the Palermitan goldsmiths and silversmiths, due not only to the
geographical position of the Abbey but also to the fame of the skilled masters.For the commission
of silver works of art destined for the Nemorense monastery also see Mendola G. (2001), Inediti
d’arte nella Diocesi di Monreale, in Gloria Patri…, p. 24; Zalapì A. (2009), Il cantiere olivetano…,




                                                                                                                  CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
in Guttilla M. (Ed.), Tesori ritrovati…, 2009, pp. 68- 69.
26
   Mendola G. (2001), Inediti d’arte…, in Gloria Patri…, p. 24. On the silversmiths also see Mar-
giotta R.F. and Barraja S. (2014), in Di Natale M.C. (Ed.), Arti decorative…, II e I, ad vocem.
27
   See Margiotta R.F. (2006), Le arti applicate nell’Abbazia…, in Marchese A.G. (Ed.), L’Abbazia di
Santa Maria…, pp. 300-301, 305-306. Also see Di Natale M.C. (2009), Per un nuovo splendore…,
in Guttilla M. (Ed.), Tesori ritrovati…, p. 25. On the work of Nicchi see S. Barraja (2014), in Di
Natale M.C. (Ed.), Arti decorative…, II, ad vocem.
28
   On the artist see Barraja S. (2014), in Di Natale M.C. (Ed.), Arti decorative…, I, ad vocem.
29
   On the artist see Barraja S. (2014), in Di Natale M.C. (Ed.), Arti decorative…, II, ad vocem.
30
   See Barraja S. (2014), in Di Natale M.C. (Ed.), Arti decorative…, I, ad vocem. The artist was
active at that time also in the nearby Bisacquino. See Margiotta R.F. (2008), Tesori d’arte a Bi-
sacquino, Quaderni di museologia e storia del collezionismo, collana diretta da M.C. Di Natale, 6,
premessa di M.C. Di Natale, Caltanissetta: Salvatore Sciascia Editore, p. 90.
31
   Appendix (2009)....,in Guttilla M. (Ed.), Tesori ritrovati…, p. 236-239. Also see Zalapì A., Il can-
tiere olivetano…, in Guttilla M. (Ed.), Tesori ritrovati…, p. 69.
32
   For the family of the majolica masters Lo Bue see I. Navarra, La maiolica siciliana dal ‘300 al
‘600, Sciacca 2008, that reports previous bibliography and more recently Ajovalasit L. (2014), in
Di Natale M.C. (Ed.), Arti decorative…, ad vocem.
33
   Mendola G. (2001), Inediti d’arte nella Diocesi di Monreale, in Gloria Patri…, p. 24; Margiotta
R.F. (2006), Le arti applicate nell’Abbazia…, in Marchese A.G. (Ed.), L’Abbazia di Santa Maria…,
p. 308; Zalapì A. (2009), Il cantiere olivetano…, in Guttilla M. (Ed.), Tesori ritrovati…, pp. 68- 69.
34
   Civiletto R. (2001), scheda 19, in Di Natale M.C. (Ed.), Splendori di Sicilia. Arti decorative dal
Rinascimento al Barocco, Milano: Charta, p. 562; Sciortino L. (2011), Monreale: il sacro e l’arte.
La committenza degli Arcivescovi, Bagheria: “Plumelia” Edizioni, p. 70.


                                                                                                            237
                                                                                               35
                                                                                                  Civiletto R. (2003), Teixits espanyols a les esglésies sicilianes, in Cantelli G. – Rizzo S. (Eds.),
                                                                                               εagniicència i extravagància europea en l’art tèxtil a Sicìlia, Palermo: Flaccovio, p. 199.
                                                                                               36
                                                                                                  Devoti D. (1993), L’arte del tessuto in Europa, Milano: Bramante, cat. 107.
                                                                                               37
                                                                                                  Bagnera A. (1994), Il motivo dei volatili affrontati all’albero della vita nei tessuti islamici, in Lucidi
                                                                                               M.T. (ed.), La seta e la sua via, Roma: Edizioni De Luca, p. 151.
                                                                                               38
                                                                                                  The artwork was on display in 2000 at the exhibition Splendori di Sicilia. Civiletto R. – Vitella M.
                                                                                               (2001), scheda 94, in Di Natale M.C. (Ed.), Splendori di Sicilia. Arti decorative dal Rinascimento
                                                                                               al Barocco, Milano: Charta, p. 622.
                                                                                               39
                                                                                                  Civiletto R. – Cantelli G. (2003), scheda n. 92, in Cantelli G. – Rizzo S. (Eds.), εagniicència i
                                                                                               extravagància europea en l’art tèxtil a Sicìlia, Palermo: Flaccovio, pp. 788-789.
                                                                                               40
                                                                                                  D’Amico Del Rosso E. (1997), I paramenti sacri, Palermo: Assessorato Regionale dei Beni
                                                                                               Culturali, p. 66.
                                                                                               41
                                                                                                  Vitella M. (2008), L’altare del duomo di Monreale, in T. Verdon (Ed.), L’arte cristiana in Italia. Età
                                                                                               Moderna e Contemporanea, Cinisello Balsamo: San Paolo, pp. 156-157.
                                                                                               42
                                                                                                  Sciortino L. (2011), Monreale: il sacro e l’arte. La committenza degli Arcivescovi, Bagheria:
M.C. di Natale, M. Vitella - The museum setup in the Benedictine dormitory of Monreale




                                                                                               “Plumelia” Edizioni, p. 145.



                                                                                                     References

                                                                                               [1]     Margiotta R.F. (2006), Le arti applicate nell’Abbazia di Santa Maria del Bosco di
                                                                                                       Calatamauro. Note storiche e documenti, in Marchese A.G. (Ed.), L’abbazia di
                                                                                                       Santa Maria del Bosco di Calatamauro, tra memoria e recupero, introduzione di
                                                                                                       C. Naro, Palermo: Provincia Regionale p. 300.
                                                                                               [2]     Archivio Storico Diocesi di Monreale, Fondo Governo Ordinario, sez. 9, serie
                                                                                                       31.1, busta 790.
                                                                                               [3]     Reginella M. (2001), scheda I,11, in Gloria Patri. L’arte come linguaggio del sac-
                                                                                                       ro, Monreale-Palermo: Curia Arcivescovile di Monreale - Regione Siciliana, pp.
                                                                                                       66-67. Also see Davì G. (2009), Le robbiane di Sicilia: la Madonna col Bambino
                                                                                                       di Santa Maria del Bosco e scheda I.3, in Guttilla M. (Ed.), Tesori ritrovati 1968-
                                                                                                       2008 storia e cultura artistica nell’abbazia di Santa Maria del Bosco di Calata-
                                                                                                       mauro e nel suo territorio dal XII al XIX secolo, s.l.: Di Nicolò Edizioni, pp. 82-83.
                                                                                               [4]     Schirò A. (1894), Il monastero di Santa Maria del Bosco di Calatamauro in Sicilia.
                                                                                                       Memorie e documenti, Palermoμ Tipograia e legatoria del Boccone del Povero,
                                                                                                       p. 283.
                                                                                               [5]     Schirò A. (1894), Il monastero di Santa Maria del Bosco di Calatamauro in Sicilia.
                                                                                                       Memorie e documenti, Palermoμ Tipograia e legatoria del Boccone del Povero,
                                                                                                       p. 285.
                                                                                               [6]     Zalapì A. (2009), Appendice documentaria, in Guttilla M. (Ed.), Tesori ritrovati
                                                                                                       1968-2008 storia e cultura artistica nell’abbazia di Santa Maria del Bosco di Ca-
                                                                                                       latamauro e nel suo territorio dal XII al XIX secolo, s.l.: Di Nicolò Edizioni, pp.
                                                                                                       230-231.
                                                                                               [7]     The artwork has been identiied by δisa Sciortino in the deposit of the Galleria
                                                                                                       Regionale della Sicilia di Palazzo Abatellis.
                                                                                               [8]     Zalapì A. (2009), Appendice documentaria, in Guttilla M. (Ed.), Tesori ritrovati
                                                                                                       1968-2008 storia e cultura artistica nell’abbazia di Santa Maria del Bosco di Cal-
                                                                                                       atamauro e nel suo territorio dal XII al XIX secolo, s.l.: Di Nicolò Edizioni, p. 228.
                                                                                               [9]     Zalapì A. (2009), Appendice documentaria, in Guttilla M. (Ed.), Tesori ritrovati
                                                                                                       1968-2008 storia e cultura artistica nell’abbazia di Santa Maria del Bosco di Cal-
                                                                                                       atamauro e nel suo territorio dal XII al XIX secolo, s.l.: Di Nicolò Edizioni, p. 232.


                                                                                         238
[10] Zalapì A. (2009), Appendice documentaria, in Guttilla M. (Ed.), Tesori ritrovati
     1968-2008 storia e cultura artistica nell’abbazia di Santa Maria del Bosco di Cal-
     atamauro e nel suo territorio dal XII al XIX secolo, s.l.: Di Nicolò Edizioni, p. 240.
[11] Schirò A. (1894), Il monastero di Santa Maria del Bosco di Calatamauro in Sicilia.
     Memorie e documenti, Palermoμ Tipograia e legatoria del Boccone del Povero,
     p. 284.


   Biographical notes

    Maria Concetta Di Natale, Full Professor since 2003 in Museology and History of
Collecting; she has taught since 1982 as Associate Professor at the Faculty of Letters
at the University of Palermo, History of Applied Arts and Jewellery, History of Medieval
Art, History of Modern Art, Theory of Restoration. On October 6th 2015 she was elected
Director of the Department of Culture and Society, University of Palermo, Italy.
    She has written many scientiic essays on 14th-16th century Sicilian painting and
miniatures and on 14th-19th century jewelry and the applied arts, such as Gioielli di Si-
cilia, a monograph that for the irst time reconstructs the history of Sicilian jewels. She
has managed the setup of many exhibitions and related catalogs. In 2006 she founded
and currently directs the Observatory for decorative Arts in Italy “Maria Accascina”, a
research instrument that publishes an online scientiic journal. Since 2011 she is Direc-
tor of the Diocesan Museum of Monreale.

   Maurizio Vitella, Associated Professor of History of Modern Art at the Department
of Culture and Society of the University of Palermo, Italy. In 1996 he obtained a PhD in
Industrial design, Figurative and Applied Arts at the Politecnico of Milan. Between 1999
and 2002 he obtained a specialized qualiication in “Identiication, analysis and screen-
ing of fabrics” / “Conservation and restoration of ancient fabrics” at the Foundation for




                                                                                                     CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
Arte della Seta Lisio in Florence.
   He teaches History of Art in Sicily and in the Mediterranean Area on the Master
Degree in History of Art and History of Modern Art, the Degree Course for the Conser-
vation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage, DAMS, and Cultural Heritage: knowledge,
management and enhancement, at the University of Palermo.
   His research areas cover decorative arts, in particular, sacred jewelry and textile
artefacts and the artistic period of the Counter Reformation and its regional develop-
ment. From 2010 until 2015 he has been Vice-president of the Italian Association of
Ecclesiastical Museums.


   Summary
   The recent decision to convert the Benedictine Dormitory in Monreale into an exhibi-
tion site offers the opportunity to enjoy the whole monumental complex where the won-
derful cloister is the core attraction. It is on this site that the Norman Cathedral stands,
brightly decorated with golden mosaics. The new exhibition has gathered together the
artworks from the ruined abbey of Santa Maria del Bosco in Calatamauro and added
them to the artefacts already exhibited at the Diocesan Museum. They include marble
gravestones from the 16th-17th century church and those dating to the 18th century;
one stone is in polychrome marble of the family of the canons, Candes and Donato;


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                                                                                               another was used for the burial of the monks from the period of the Olivetan refoun-
                                                                                               dation, characterized by the Order’s coat of arms and attributed to Girolamo Musca.
                                                                                               There are also majolica tiles from the chapels in cornu evangelij (left side of the altar)
                                                                                               adorned with large vegetal-shaped decorations, provided by Palermitan manufactur-
                                                                                               ers in the mid-eighteenth century. They are found next to the remnants of the majolica
                                                                                               tiles still in situ, executed in 1762 by the potters from Burgio, in Sicily. Rosario Rosso
                                                                                               (also Russo) and Giuseppe Virgadamo. Also commissioned after the refoundation of
                                                                                               the holy temple are the four artworks by the painter Ippolito Ferrante, three of which,
                                                                                               Sacriicio di Isacco, εelchisedec and Giale e Sisar, are on exhibition in the prestigious
                                                                                               museum. Alongside these artworks are noteworthy textile artefacts made between the
                                                                                               second half of the 16th and second half of the 18th centuries some of which are linked
                                                                                               to the muniicent igures of archbishops such as δudovico II Torres and Francesco
                                                                                               Testa.
M.C. di Natale, M. Vitella - The museum setup in the Benedictine dormitory of Monreale




                                                                                                   Riassunto
                                                                                                   La recente destinazione del dormitorio dei Padri Benedettini di Monreale a sede
                                                                                               espositiva offre la possibilità di fruire dell’intero complesso monumentale che ha come
                                                                                               fulcro lo splendido chiostro. Su esso si affaccia il Duomo normanno, sfavillante di
                                                                                               tessere auree che compongono gli aulici mosaici. Il nuovo contesto espositivo rac-
                                                                                               coglie opere provenienti dalla distrutta abbazia di Santa Maria del Bosco di Calata-
                                                                                               mauro, che vanno ad aggiungersi ai manufatti già esposti presso il Museo Diocesano.
                                                                                               Ci si riferisce alle lapidi marmoree della chiesa cinque-seicentesca a quelle settecente-
                                                                                               sche, una in marmi di diversi colori della famiglia dei canonici Candes e Donato, l’altra
                                                                                               per la sepoltura dei monaci del periodo della rifondazione olivetana caratterizzata dallo
                                                                                               stemma dell’Ordine, ascritta a Girolamo Musca; alle mattonelle maiolicate provenienti
                                                                                               dalle cappelle in cornu evangelj, ornate da decori vegetali ad ampio disegno, fornite da
                                                                                               maestranze palermitane intorno alla metà del XVIII secolo, che afiancavano gli esigui
                                                                                               resti di mattonelle maiolicate ancora in situ, eseguiti nel 1762 dai ceramisti di Burgio
                                                                                               Rosario Rosso (Russo) e Giuseppe Virgadamo. Commissionate successivamente alla
                                                                                               rifondazione del sacro tempio sono la serie di quattro opere del pittore Ippolito Fer-
                                                                                               rante, tre delle quali esposte nella prestigiosa sede museale, rafiguranti Sacriicio
                                                                                               di Isacco, Melchisedec e Giale e Sisar. A tali opere sono afiancate, nel percorso es-
                                                                                               positivo, pregevoli manufatti tessili realizzati tra la seconda metà del XVI secolo e la
                                                                                               seconda metà del XVIIIμ alcuni legati alle muniiche igure di arcivescovi δudovico II
                                                                                               Torres e Francesco Testa.




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