The Jewel of Vicenza

A jewel in the city of Palladio

 

Perhaps not everyone knows that Vicenza holds a jewel, the reproduction of the city surrounded by walls made entirely of silver

In 1577 the City Council, with the opinion of many excellent Venetian masters and Andrea Palladio, decided to donate the model of the city as an ex voto to the Madonna of Monte Berico to ward off the plague. It was built in a wooden structure and then covered with silver plates. Unfortunately the Napoleonic troops defrauded and destroyed it in 1797.

There are various testimonies of this model, among which important are the reproductions in the paintings of Alessandro Maganza and Francesco Maffei.

 

The study project

In May 2010, at the invitation of Davide Fiore, curator of the Diocesan Museum of Vicenza, a Vicenza Jewelery Committee was set up, in which our Jewelery took part and thanks to the support of the Cultural Heritage Office of the diocese and otherinstitutional bodies in Vicenza, a competition aimed at virtually returning the Jewel has been promoted.

 

The Architect Romano Concato won the competition for the virtual realization of the project.

Starting from the Angelic map of Vicenza and proportioning the models with the golden section, the architect Concato presented a rather in-depth study which precisely identifies the main buildings of public interest including palaces and churches by relating the angelic plant with the available paintings showing the model of the city from various angles. He then reported the building dimensions of the time and reconstructed a three-dimensional model that is as similar to the original as possible.

Second phase: the project for the creation of the jewel

n 2011, the Committee promoted the second phase of the project by launching the operation “Transform your old silver into history”, i.e. an initiative aimed at restoring the work of art to Vicenza and its citizens art through a collection of silver donations as happened for the ancient ex voto with a minimum target of 30 kg.

Our Jewelery along with others took part in the collection and at the end of December 2012 the pre-set silver quota was exceeded, which went well over 50 kg.

Thus it was possible to create a work on the development and the case for the exhibition.

The Jewel, in 925/1000 solid silver also in the screws that assemble it, combines traditional goldsmith techniques with the Legor Group’s Laser PLM technologies experimented for the first time with silver.

Il master silversmith from Vicenza Carlo Rossi who made it, started from small sculptures in molded wax, used as a model for the subsequent casting.

The elements obtained were finished and embellished by chiselling and engraving. The final weight is 15 kg net; the overall commitment was approximately 2,000 hours of work.

Finally, in the centre, in Piazza dei Signori, all in 18-karat gold stands out La Rua, altro simbolo storico di unità popolare della città di Vicenza, eseguita dalla ditta Chimento.

 

The Jewel returns in its splendor to the city of Vicenza

Completed in the summer of 2013, the Jewel returns to citizenship for the town patronal feast on 7 September.

It was blessed on 8 September 2013 on the occasion of the annual diocesan procession which goes from the church of San Vincenzo to the sanctuary of Monte Berico (as in 1578) with the aim, today, of “asking the Madonna of Monte Berico to return to social harmony”.

The Associazione il Gioiello di Vicenza and its partners have supported the entire project with completely voluntary work.

Today the prestigious Diocesan Museum of Vicenza “Mons. G. Nonis” guards the Jewel of Vicenza and every year on the occasion of 8 September it is carried in procession.

This work embodies the characteristics of Vicenza: goldsmithing, harmony, architecture, entrepreneurship, volunteering, craftsmanship and solidarity.

 

You can admire the jewel at:

Museo Diocesano
Piazza Duomo, 12
36100 VICENZA
T 0444 226400 F 0444 226404
e.mail: museo@diocesi.vicenza.it

Opening
from monday to sunday (saturday and sunday only with reservation)
14.00 – 18.00