Donatello’s Madonna, the artistic jewel kept in Citerna

Donatello’s work, after a lengthy restoration, can be admired in Citerna, inside the Church of San Francesco.

Citerna, more precisely the Chapel of San Francesco, houses a work of great value: Donatello’s Madonna, dated 1415–20 and considered one of the most fascinating art discoveries of recent years. Rediscovered in 2004 in the Church of San Francesco, after a lengthy restoration lasting nearly seven years at the Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence, it returned to its hometown of Citerna in 2012. It is precisely this careful restoration and subsequent studies that have attributed the terracotta sculpture—depicting the Madonna and Child sculpted in clay in the round—to the Florentine artist, who created it in the early years of his career, perhaps out of devotion among some patrician families in the area. This is a rarity of its kind, as, according to experts, only one other terracotta Madonna by Donatello exists.

However, it was the meticulous restoration that restored its original splendor, made of details, especially in the folds of the robe. The years had erased part of the ceramic’s original color, especially because it had undergone several varnishes (three layers) over the centuries to prevent fading or to accommodate changing artistic tastes. The work began after targeted surveys and characterizations of the varnish, followed by a precise removal of the layers above the original level—with a chemical-physical cleaning—to reveal the work’s aesthetic values while respecting the natural aging of the materials.

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