FAA talk on Caravaggio’s the Beheading of St John the Baptist

In commemoration of the twentieth anniversary of the Restoration of Caravaggio’s Masterpiece, the Beheading of St John the Baptist, Flimkien Ghal Ambjent Ahjar in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute will present a talk by Prof. Marco Ciatti, Superintendent of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Firenze.

The Opificio delle Pietre Dure is the oldest European institution specialised in the conservation and restoration of works of art. Steeped in tradition, the Institute was originally set up by Ferdinando I de’ Medici. Today, the Institute is the central seat for the Italian Ministero dei Deni e delle Attivita’ Culturali e del Turismo focusing on conservation, research and education.

Ciatti has been at the Institute’s helm since 2012 as superintendent. With thirty years of experience under his belt, Ciatti will take his audience on a virtual tour of the Institute using the beautiful masterpieces restored by the Institute as his guide. Throughout his illustrious career, Ciatti has been involved in various restorations projects on many works of art; namely Botticelli, Cimabue, Giovanni Pisano, Raffaello and Giotto just to mention a few.

The talk will also re-visit Ciatti’s experience of the restoration project of the Caravaggio Masterpiece, the Beheading of St John the Baptist which he lead in 1998. The audience will be taken through the journey of the care and workmanship required to restore this masterpiece, Malta’s most valuable work of art, damaged in 1989 as a result of an attempted robbery.