A work steeped in history, marked by time and the interventions of restorers: Giovanni Bellini’s Pietà, housed in the Rimini City Museum “Luigi Tonini”, is brought to life today in a new light thanks to a meticulous restoration that restores its original beauty.

Careful cleaning of the painted surface, the removal of yellowed varnishes, and the delicate restoration of details allowed the Venetian master’s brushstroke to emerge in its chromatic and compositional completeness. Every crack, every trace of the past has been respected, transforming into a narrative thread that recounts the complex conservation history of the work, from the delicate transport of 1969 to the interventions of the twentieth century.

The volume traces the history of the Pietà through the contributions of Peter Humfrey, Giovanni Sassu, Giulio Zavatta, and Sara Masinelli, up to the technical insights into the restoration conducted by Lucia Tito, which document each phase with scientific precision and artistic sensitivity, offering photographic documentation of the before and after restoration.

The project represents evidence of an initiative that expresses a shared vision of protecting and promoting Venice’s cultural heritage, capable of generating new perspectives on the knowledge, enjoyment, and dissemination of Italian art worldwide. This is a synergistic action between public and private, the result of the collaboration between the Rimini City Museum “Luigi Tonini”, the Veneto Regional Directorate of National Museums –through the Giorgio Franchetti Gallery at Ca’ d’Oro – and Venetian Heritage.

A comprehensive guide that combines art, science, and history, allowing the reader to understand how precious the care of our cultural heritage is.