Project Description
Main Portal of the Church of Sant’Elena, (ca. 1467)
Church of Sant’Elena, Venice
Project
Restoration of the Main Portal
Location
Church of Sant’Elena, Venice
Project director
Ministry of Culture, Monuments and
Fine Arts Office of Venice
Contractors
Il Cenacolo s.r.l., Venice;
ALtech s.r.l., Venice
Funding
Mr. and Mrs. Donald K. Miller;
Venetian Heritage
Start date
April 2002
End date
November 2002
Cost
60.600,00 €
The Church of Sant’Elena, built in gothic style during the 11th century, was dedicated to the Empress Elena, mother of Constatino. Venetian Heritage funded the restoration of the monumental sculpture at the entrance of the Church which commemorates the Venetian Admiral Vittore Cappello. Dating around 1467, the sculpture is made of Istrian stone and marble, it is worked entirely in the round. After many years of neglect it was in urgent need of both surface and structural restoration. Most of the surface damage was due to years of environmental pollution; the marble sculptures had blackened and showed signs of disintegration and in some places fragments had actually been lost. In the past this work was erroneously attributed to Antonio Rizzo and Antonio Dentone. However, Dr. Anne Markham Schulz’s studies attributed it to Niccolò di Giovanni Fiorentino, whose sculpture played an influential role in Dalmatian art. An example of his work is the Orsini Chapel in Trogir, where he was the master responsible for its construction, and which has been restored with funds from Venetian Heritage.