A one-year restoration of the Capponi chapel in the church of Santa Felicità, perhaps best known for housing Pontormo’s monumental Deposition from the Cross, recently came to a close. The 120,000 euro project was funded by Friends of Florence through donors Kathe and John Dyson.
Pontormo’s Deposition | Ph. Antonio Quattrone
The restoration project began in March 2017. Carried out by restorer Daniele Rossi under the technical supervision of Daniele Rapino, the work involved nearly all of the chapel’s surfaces. Among these are Pontormo’s Annunciation on the wall adjacent to the Deposition, and a copy of a glass work by French monk Guillaume de Marcillat, depicting the Crucifixion and the transportation of Christ to burial. The only chapel artworks left untouched were the depictions of the four Evangelists in the pendentives, which Rossi restored in 2010.
Pontormo’s Annunciation
Designed by Brunelleschi in 1422, the Capponi Chapel takes its name from Lodovico di Gino Capponi, a noble Florentine banker with ties to the Medici, who purchased the space in 1525 for his family tombs. President of Friends of Florence Simonetta Brandolini d’Adda described the chapel as “one of Florence’s treasures which fills your eyes and heart with joy and beauty; Pontormo’s genius pulls us in, inviting us to step into Santa Felicità every time we pass through this corner of the city”.
