I chiostri di Monreale e Cefalù tra dibattiti e de-restauri

The cloisters of Monreale and Cefalù have been the subject of continuous interest by the Institutions of protection naturally due to the exceptional nature of the testimonies. But, often, the works were not carried out with the necessary knowledge and, consequently, significant de-restorations were necessary, which are also not particularly known and, therefore, debated. The restorations of the Cefalù cloister are illustrated, from the ‘corrective interventions’ by Francesco Valenti of 1912 to the post-war ones of a reintegrative type conducted by Armando Dillon and which aroused a fervent debate triggered by Cesare Brandi, to those last ‘evocative completion’ by the Regional Center for Restoration (2000-04). For the cloister of Monreale we will refer to the repeated replacement of the roofs of the northern wing of the cloister, the most problematic due to its connections with the Cathedral itself, from the ‘liberation and restoration’ interventions by Giuseppe Patricolo at the end of the 19th century, to those, which turned out to be incorrect, from the end of the 90s, to the – corrective – ones that have just been completed. The reflection made on these two cases aims to forcefully reaffirm the relationship between history and restoration, mediated by the survey as a tool for understanding and subsequent graphic restitution of the historical phases on the material testimonies which have come down to us, indispensable for developing a critical awareness necessary for restoration choices aimed at conservation, substantiating their ‘cultural’ character.