1. Moving the ceiling in art The Lucio Fontana ceiling installation at the Museo del Novecento in Milan Barbara Ferriani, Conservator, Barbara Ferriani srl – studio di restauro, Milan Marina Pugliese, Project Director Museo del Novecento, Milan IN 2000, THE INSTALLATION REALISED BY LUCIO FONTANA IN 1956 FOR THE HOTEL DEL GOLFO ON THE ISLAND OF ELBA, RISKED DESTRUCTION IN THE REFURBISHMENT OF THE BUILDING. THE INSTALLATION, MEASURING 150 SQUARE METRES, CONSISTS OF INCISIONS, CUTS, SLASHES AND APPLIED MATERIALS IN THE PLASTER OF THE CEILING. IT IS ONE OF THE FEW REMAINING WORKS REALISED DURING FONTANA'S INNOVATIVE RESEARCH INTO SPATIAL ENVIRONMENTS. THANKS TO THE INTERVENTION OF FONDAZIONE FONTANA, NECESSARY DUE TO THE ABSENCE OF LEGISLATION PREVENTING THE DESTRUCTION OF THE WORK (AS BEING TOO RECENT TO BE PROTECTED BY CULTURAL HERITAGE LAW), THE MINISTRY OF CULTURAL HERITAGE PURCHASED THE WORK.. PROJECT AND INTERVENTION The options of utilising the strappo or the stacco methods to remove the ceiling were rejected because the reliefs and incisions characterising the work affect the entire depth of the plaster. For this reason, we decided to employ the technique of stacco a massello. The work was divided into 25 panels (sections of 2 x 3 m) according to a grid plan that would save, as far as possible, Fontana’s “marks”, but that took into account the limitations presented by the reinforcements of the sub-structure, as well as maintaining the panels’ dimensions and weight to facilitate their future transport. In the initial phase, during which restorers, architects and structural engineers were involved, photographic and photogrammetric survey were obtained to create a computerised model that could be used in the simulation of the detachment process. The first phase of restoration consisted in facing the surface through the application of a cotton gauze and the protection of the sections in relief, the cuts and incisions, and the undercuts and holes. Then supports were built beneath the ceiling - 25 counter-forms sustained by a brace scaffolding structure. The first incisions to be made were those from below – this was done in order to prevent breaks in the plaster that could have resulted from load and stress variations during subsequent demolition from above. Only once the joists had been removed from the extrados, it was possible to execute the incisions from above and isolate each panel. Considering the fragility of the work, the removal of all material from the rear of the panels was done using electric drills with diamond-tip blades, and all of these actions were preceded by consolidation treatments, and frequent assessments were carried out. Once the thinning procedures were completed, the entire surface was consolidated. Cracks and breaks were filled, the pieces were backed, followed by the application of an intervention layer and finally, the gluing of the panels onto new supports. Due to the lack of commercially available supports suitable for the weight and dimensions of the panels, these supports had to be specifically manufactured. They were constructed with internal reinforcing and thread inserts in strategic positions that allowed for the transport of the panels and their positioning in a new location. Once loaded onto trailers – in which scaffolding structures had been erected in order to sustain the supports – the panels were transported to Milan, where they were placed in a temporary laboratory in Palazzo Litta, the Regional headquarters of the Department for Cultural Heritage. Here the restoration of the surfaces began. Each panel was overturned and positioned on a mobile structure that facilitated not only the removal of the facing gauze, cleaning, consolidation and reintegration of the superficial paint layer, but also the realignment of the panels in order to simulate the work’s final reconstruction. So as to avoid physical stresses on the panels during repositioning, appropriate metal structures were built, allowing for their rotation to be carried out in a suspended position. In the spring of 2010, thanks to an agreement between the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and the Magistrate of Milan, the work was installed in a great hall of the Museo del Novecento dedicated to the art of Lucio Fontana. The panels were overturned and positioned, suspended, on support structures which facilitated their transport and lifting to the last floor of the museum. Each panel was reinforced with an intermediate frame boasting specialised attachment mechanisms which were adapted to the supporting architectural structure. Using micrometric measurements, it was possible to reposition each panel exactly as it was prior to the disassembly. The restoration of this unique piece will be completed by November 2010 and is documented in a video. Direction of works: Carlo Birrozzi, Matteo Ceriana – Ministry of Cultural Heritage Work Team: Barbara Ferriani and Alessandra Vannini, Annamaria Ferrari – Ferriani studio di restauro, in collaboration with Cristina Vazio, Paolo Rolli, Gianni Gambaro, Fabio Meroni, Gennaro Costruzioni