Church of Santa Maria Segreta in Milan

Via G. B. Buzzoni 2 20123 Milano

The Church is open daily from 7:00 am until the evening Mass.
Phone 02 36520449
www.santamariasegreta.it   

Conservative Restoration of the façade

The restoration works had the purpose of preserving the entire surface of the dismantled Church of Santa Maria Segreta [secret] in Milan, rebuilt between 1912 and 1918 near the present Piazza Tommaseo, along the axis of Via Mascheroni. Restorers followed a strictly conservative operational philology. The façade in fact preserves the whole delicate finishing “a bocciarla e spatula” and stone fragments of the ancient XVII century building.
The history of the Church of Santa Maria Segreta goes indeed through a minimum of three demolitions and reconstructions, and a decomposition and recomposition. Radical transformations that share the re-use and the use of elements and parts of the previous building. A series of events contributed to the current appearance, resulting in a collage of various parts and different and distant artistic eras.
The present Church of Santa Maria Segreta was rebuilt by Architect Augusto Brusconi between 1912 and 1918 to replace the old Church demolished in 1911, together with San Vittore al Teatro, to allow the expansion of the Central Post Palace.
As described later here under, the project involved the cleaning of all surfaces. The façade was cleaned with a gentle and progressive air-spray procedure at very low pressure, powered by demineralized water using ion exchange resin. At the end of the cleaning works the building could show many interesting elements: first of all the cameo, the Virgin and child above the main portal: an oval Botticino marble bas-relief (1,9 x 1,2 m), magnificently carved, with beautiful glossy and matt tricks of light obtained tapering surface with a gradina, a flat toothed chisel. Faces are soft and harmonious, drawn with precise perspective correction. They seems to be oval from a frontal point of view but almost absolutely at eye level. A major consolidation was later carried out by applying consolidating products for limestone and siliceous materials with water-repellent protection. The Church is the seat of the ancient Parish of Santa Maria Segreta.

By Mario Colella

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