La Chiesa di Sant'Uberto a Venaria Reale. Storia e restauri

In 2002 the renovation of the church of Sant'Uberto was completed under the direction of Francesco Pernice. This was an important accomplishment as part of the massive renovation project of the royal residence, the Reggia di Venaria. Juvarra began the work on the church in 1716, which was interrupted in 1730 because of his commitments with other Savoy projects. The church was left unfinished until his death in 1736, but work was taken up again by Benedetto Alfieri in 1739, who was put in charge of the entire residence. Alfieri adapted the new work on the church to new needs of the court and to the changes in architectural taste. Changes in the church architecture ceased with the death of Alfieri in 1767. In the last decades of the 1700s there was mainly normal maintenance work and some reconstruction of the decorative elements. This was a prelude to the massive restoration work done in the 1820's by stucco artist Pietro Cremona. In 1832 Venaria was transformed into a barracks. There was a long period of decline and of the stripping away of artifacts that was to continue into the 20th century despite the impassioned efforts of directors and supervisors. The essays collected in this book cover the ecclesiastical process that led to the dedication of the church to Sant'Uberto, the 18th-century work done by Alfieri, the 19th-century maintenance and renovation projects, the distressing events of the early 1900s and the colossal renovation project that has made the way for the recovery of the church and its re-opening to the public.