Restoring Milan's Duomo, one statue at a time

In a workshop in the Milan suburbs, sculptor Giovanni Calderino completes his latest project -- a battered statue from the top of the Italian city's gothic cathedral, and its gleaming white replacement.

Depicting a bearded man wearing a tunic, the marble statue has adorned one of the Duomo's 135 spires for two centuries.

But decades of harsh weather, pollution and the bombings of the Second World War have taken their toll, leaving it discoloured and missing its right hand.

The damage to the statue was spotted during the twice-yearly inspections of the cathedral, by the institution that has managed the building for 600 years, the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano.

Too fragile to put back, Calderino has created a perfect replica to take its place -- the latest of a steady stream of replacements that maintain the splendour of one of Italy's most famous monuments.

Ornamentalist Fabio Belloni, 55, marks the measures for carving on Candoglia marble spires of Milan's Duomo at the marble yard (Cantiere Marmisti) where blocks of marble are turned into ashlars, architectural and ornamental elements and statues on December 11, 2024 in Milan. Marble workers of the "Venerable Factory of the Duomo of Milan" (Fabbrica del Duomo) are taking care of more than 3.000 statues and gargoyles sculpted in marble from Candoglia quarries in the Italian Alps. (Photo by Piero CRUCIATTI / AFP)

- Born from a block -

"For me, a statue is like a child that I see grow day by day. It is fascinating to see it born from a block of marble after months of work," Calderino told AFP at the workshop, where around 20 stonemasons practise their craft.

There are more than 3,400 statues on the Duomo, on which construction began in 1386.

They are carved from the dazzling pink-white marble from Candoglia quarry near Lake Maggiore northwest of Milan -- and from where Calderino and his colleagues still take marble today.

"Candoglia marble is very beautiful, very special, but it is difficult to work on because it has very large calcite grains that can break, so it is fragile," said Marco Scolari, the geologist in charge of the workshop and quarry.

The techniques of the team in Milan would also be recognisable to the craftsmen of old, albeit with some technological help.

First, Calderino, 46, makes a rough outline in the marble with his chisel.

Then with surgical precision, he sculpts it with a pneumatic hammer, before smoothing it with an abrasive stone.

- 'Adopt' a statue -

In the small backyard of the workshop, the old statues form a silent crowd, waiting for a new home.

Of the around 100 decapitated, disfigured or limbless figures, several have a small white sign around their necks saying "adopt a statue!"

Sculptor Giovanni Calderino, 46, carves a Candoglia marble statue with a pneumatic hammer at Cantiere Marmisti, the marble yard where marble from the Candoglia quarry is turned into ashlars, architectural and ornamental elements, sculptures and statues of Milan's Duomo Cathedral, on December 11, 2024 in Milan. On the left, a double-joint manual pantograph is visible, attached to the old marble statue to create precise copies through a pointing system. Marble workers of the "Venerable Factory of the Duomo of Milan" (Fabbrica del Duomo) are taking care of more than 3.000 statues and gargoyles sculpted in marble from Candoglia quarries in the Italian Alps. (Photo by Piero CRUCIATTI / AFP)

For an annual fee of 25,000 euros ($26,280) for up to three years, companies can take in one of the Duomo statues -- and in doing so, benefit from a tax break, and a little history.

Consulting firm Deloitte took in an imposing depiction of biblical hero Samson and the lion he is said to have killed with his bare hands, created in the 17th century by Giovanni Battista Buzzi.

Such 'adoptions' "bring a little piece of the Duomo into their company", said Elisa Mantia, the Duomo's culture and conservation coordinator.

Many of them end up in the Duomo Museum, where the statues can be admired close up. —AFP