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Restoring Buildings and Works of Art
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Since being set up, private committees have carried out numerous restorations: more than 80 buildings, such as the churches of Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Santa Maria del Giglio, and more than 900 works of art such as the Arco del Paradiso and the decoration of the Querini-Stampalia Palace, have been restored.
The complete list of restoration work is available at UNESCO.
Private committees are gradually laying greater emphasis on the monitoring and maintenance of restoration work.
Examples are the monitoring of Sansovino’s small loggia at the base of the Campanile, carried out by Venice in Peril, and the continuing maintenance of the façade of Santa Maria del Giglio by the Swiss "Pro Venezia" foundation.
It was only the particularly good relations between those responsible for the work and the private donors that made the monitoring of Santa Maria del Giglio possible; but this is, so far, an isolated example.
Preventive preservation saves money, since monitoring is inexpensive and makes restoration unnecessary; but, paradoxically, this less striking and prestigious type of activity has greater difficulty in finding the necessary funding.
However, while these restoration operations are remarkable, they do not save Venice from danger once and for all. Our vigilance must not slacken.
Santa Maria dei Miracoli
The façade of Santa Maria del Giglio
The Arco del Paradiso
The decoration of the Portego of the Querini- Stampalia Palace
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