The Annunciata, a polychrome terracotta sculpture, created in the early fifteenth century by Jacopo della Quercia, will be exhibited, from 22 December 2016 to 30 March 2017, at the Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria in Perugia.
The Sienese artist's masterpiece, preserved in the Castellina di Norcia Museum, miraculously remained intact after the earthquake of last October 30 and was brought to safety thanks to the Fire Brigade, the Carabinieri of the Nucleo Tutela Patrimonio dell 'Umbria, to the ABAP Superintendence of Umbria, to the Ikuvium company of Gubbio, to the director of the Nursino museum.
The exhibition, which has a profound significance for the community of Norcia and the Valnerina, bears witness to how great and significant the artistic and historical heritage of the entire area is.
"The Municipal Administration of Norcia - said the mayor of Norcia, Nicola Alemanno and the councilor for Culture Giuseppina Perla, together with the director of the Museum, Maria Angela Turchetti - does not want to forget the huge cultural heritage of the area, put severely tested by the seismic events of recent months, nor the Castellina Museum, which was about to be the subject of an important project financed by the European Union through the Umbria Region”.
The Virgin of Norcia, deprived of arms, already mentioned in the Massenzi Collection in 1929, characterized by a gentle and sweet young face, wears an iridescent red dress, with the neckline underlined by an elegant border with small flowers engraved on the leaf now applied in gouache , tightened under the breasts by a golden belt.
The fabric is modeled in turgid pleats that are arranged around the body propping it up like buttresses, thickening downwards and spreading plastic and ductile on the ground, in a slight twist of the body that stretches, elegantly tapered, upwards.
Donated by Cavalier Evelino Massenzi to the Municipality of Norcia, the Annunciata had already suffered damage in the 1997 earthquake and had been restored through a contribution from the Consortium of the Nera and Velino di Cascia Imbriferous Basin, and subsequently exhibited in the Museum thanks to the Lions Club of Norcia and its then president, Cesare Recchi.
The Castellina Museum, part of the Nursino Museum Circuit, which also includes the Roman Cryptoporticus of Porta Ascolana, tells the story of Norcia and its territory, between the Sabines and the XNUMXth century.
Remained standing in the load-bearing walls, the museum, now closed to visitors, suffered deep damage in its rooms, while the bell gable of the facade and part of the roof of the gallery collapsed.
To ensure the conservation of the Museum's materials, archaeological finds and works of art are being moved to the Santo Chiodo deposit of the Umbria Region.
