Canova Museum: new improvements to be made at the Birthplace of Antonio Canova

Borso del Grappa - An important agreement has been signed between the Antonio Canova Gypsotheca Museum and the Chrysos company, whereby resources will be made available for an imminent restoration project on the Birthplace of the Sculptor Antonio Canova.
The agreement was made official at the company’s production plant in Borso del Grappa in the presence of the media. Presiding were: Prof. Vittorio Sgarbi, President of the Canova Foundation, Dr. Moira Mascotto, Director of the Museum, Dr. Valerio Favero, Mayor of Possagno, and Francesco and Carlo Bernardi, founders of the Chrysos Group.

THE AGREEMENT
The agreement, signed by Chrysos this afternoon, stipulates a generous sum to be donated to the Canova Museum that has been designated to the restoration of Antonio Canova's Birthplace. The renovations, from the repainting of walls to a modernization of the lighting system, are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2022, in conjunction with the 200th anniversary of the Artist's death. “Our utmost gratitude goes out to Chrysos - said the President Prof. Vittorio Sgarbi - for having chosen the Canova Museum as the appropriate recipient for this generous and liberal gesture. In these times that bear witness to an escalating lack of interest in artistic and cultural heritages, the devotion demonstrated to the Museum from an avant-garde establishment so close to Possagno is of the utmost support."
"Collaborating with cultural institutions and supporting their activities to promote art in all its forms and manifestations - declared the founders Francesco and Carlo Bernardi - is in the DNA of our family. We are pleased to give new splendor to Canova's Birthplace, restoring its beauty to citizens from around the world."
In response, the Mayor of the Municipality of Possagno, Valerio Favero, answered: "It is not often one finds companies like Chrysos and visionary entrepreneurs such as the members of the Bernardi family, who choose to associate their goldsmith artistry to the genius of Canova. With their support for the entire redevelopment project of the Artist's Birthplace, they demonstrate a sense of belonging and an appreciation for the excellences of our territory. For this, my personal thanks and the gratitude of all the citizens of Possagno goes out to them."
The Director of the Canova Gypsotheca Museum, Dr. Moira Mascotto, further comments: "The objective to restore the Artist's House at this particular moment in time will place 2022 in line with previous Canova landmark anniversaries. These significant restorations have become part of a legacy, lasting signs in homage to the Sculptor. In 1922, on the first centenary of his death, many works damaged during the First World War were restored, as well as the structure of the 19th century wing. In 1957, the second centenary of Canova's birth, the complex was embellished with what is now considered a true architectural jewel of the museum, the exhibition wing designed by the Venetian architect Carlo Scarpa, who also oversaw the overall rearrangement of the collection. I thank the Chrysos company and its founders for their generous contribution, a true sign of sensibility towards beauty, of foresight, and a demonstration of sincere affinity for the territory. "

THE PROJECT
The Birthplace of Antonio Canova represents one of the nuclei of which the Canova Museum is composed, together with the 19th century wing, the Scarpa wing and the Gemin wing.
In the years following Canova's death, the House assumed its full function as a museum, hosting paintings, engravings and drawings, plaster casts and marbles made by Canova, as well as documentation and personal objects owned by the Artist or related to him.
Following an in-depth archival-documentary study relating to the evolution of the building, with the aim of outlining the colorimetric changes of the House, a repainting plan for the surfaces of the building and a project for the overall remodeling of electrical, lighting, alarm and fire prevention systems was drawn up, in collaboration with the Territorial Superintendency. The successful completion of this important restoration project will further enhance the artistic and architectural heritage that so distinctly embellishes Possagno and the surrounding territory.
Hence, the second centenary of Canova's death, 2022, calls upon us to honor the Artist once again not only with temporary exhibitions and events, but also with the restoration of the sections currently most in need of maintenance. Canova’s Birthplace, which not only represents a meaningful legacy, is the only structure among those that now make up the Museum which was conceived, built and lived in by Antonio Canova himself.

THE CHRYSOS COMPANY
Chrysos, a jewelry manufacturing company begun in 1987, has donated a considerable sum to the Canova Foundation which will be allocated for the restoration of one of the most iconic museums of its kind, the Birthplace of Antonio Canova. This altruistic gesture displays a true spirit of patronage and compelling desire to establish a bridge between the public and private sectors for the preservation of invaluable Italian cultural heritage.
From its inception, Chrysos conducts its manufacturing business entirely in Italy, following a distinguished lineage of Italian goldsmith tradition. A tradition with centuries-old roots in the Veneto region, such as “Fraglia degli Oresi”, the first artisan association in this world-renown goldsmith district.
Francesco and Carlo Bernardi summarize by offering these final thoughts: “With Antonio Canova we not only share a geographical location but also an entrepreneurial spirit, characterized by the combination of tradition and innovation inspired by the territory. Technology is an integral part of our know-how and we use it to impart a futuristic vision to our contemporary jewels. Canova, even in his day, utilized a technology of sorts with the measuring instruments he employed to replicate the beauty of his original plaster casts onto the marble sculptures. One might even venture to interpret this purely artistic production as a precursor to industrialization. "