Monastic cells are transformed into hotel rooms, polychrome marble altars are transformed into reception desks. It `s Magic restorations carried out in the last two years at the San Domenico Palace in Taormina, charming fourteenth-century monastery complex, converted into a hotel at the turn of the century and today a Four Season Hotel, from where the view extends as far as the eye can see, from the Greek theater to the sea and to the smoking peak of Etna. “We are on the slopes of Etna, in the most luxurious hotel, at an altitude of a thousand feet above sea level,” John Steinbeck wrote from his good Sicilian retreat to his agent and friend Elizabeth Otis. “There are flowers everywhere. (…) We read, we sleep and we write letters, and from our balcony we look beyond Sicily to the extreme coast of the rest of Italy, and then admire Mount Etna, over which rises a cloud that I think you have never seen. where the gods gather.
An oasis of calm and relaxation, which, however, due to the neglect of centuries, deserves to be restored to its former glory thanks to the meticulous restoration work carried out by Dr. Rosary Catania Cucchiarain charge of the historic restoration project. Working closely with the architect Valentina Pisani, who supervised the design of interior and exterior spaces, she was able to secure the stone apparatus of the two monasteries, which is now installed and perfectly integrated into the context of the hotel, as well as bring out the original colors of the wooden portals, paintings, furniture and all the decorative elements that characterize this place.
How long did the restoration work take you?
We have been here for two years. In the first months there were seven of us, then we stabilized at five.
What process did you follow?
We always work under the strict supervision of the Headquarters. We carry out the diagnosis of materials and degradation pathologies on the artifact through petrographic, mineralogical examination, and then study the most appropriate methodology. Diagnosis is essential, but experience matters.
What research did you do to prepare?
After graduating from the Faculty of Modern Literature with a historical and artistic direction, I specialized in the history of art, then took a three-year ministerial course in painting restoration, and then entered the workshop for 10 years. Today I continue my studies with other special courses.
What was the biggest problem in restoring the monastery? What techniques did you use?
Of course, the columns of the monasteries, which for centuries remained abandoned without any repair or restoration. The situation was difficult with grass clinging to pollutants and 3 cm of limestone in line with the drainage eaves. Leaks have made much of the column metric texture unreadable. An appearance that required detailed and meticulous work.
What technique did you use?
We resorted to mechanical cleaning: therefore, no sandblasting machines, but only scalpels and a mechanical nozzle. After two earthquakes in 1783 and 1789, the columns collapsed, but there was never a restoration during their restoration. Even previous hotel chains never cared about this.
I know you were a women’s team, was that a conscious choice? If so, what changes between the hand of a woman and a man?
This is not a feminist question, but why does it make me feel better. In our work, women are more attentive, patient, meticulous. A woman has more care, she takes care of the child as if with work. Artifacts become our brainchild, and it could not be otherwise. Otherwise you would not be able to do this work: it would only be tired and a waste of mental and physical energy. It is a matter of harmony between us and the works we save.
We are not always aware of the heritage that surrounds us, what is missing in Italy to improve it properly? Do you think we have something to learn from abroad?
We are the ones who founded the concept of conservative restoration, so they learned from us. With the difference that they are more organized and more sensitive. And it is for this reason that in Italy we must fight for the raising of the consciousness of souls. We would have worked for thousands of generations with our assets, but the problem is that we don’t invest and don’t understand why. If it were not for private individuals, there would be little that government agencies could do. Beauty will save us, someone said. And in Italy, what surrounds us if not beauty? But who saves beauty?
What are your future projects?
In truth, the work at San Domenico in Taormina is not yet finished. The ancient sacristy has yet to be restored. This is a small box in which even the most dilapidated part of the monastery decoration was placed. It is a magical place that suffered from Allied bombing in the 1940s when the building was turned into a German military base. We are waiting for permission to begin restoration and restore to these walls their precious sanctity, a harmony that must be respected and honored.
Source: Elle