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Collegiate Church of Sant’Agata: It is truly unique
ASCIANO - The study on the restoration of the ancient building became Valerio D'Andraia's degree thesis in Architecture
This is how my transport for this monument and the idea of a degree thesis was born ". This is how Valerio D 'Andraia explains his restoration studio on the ancient church, a thesis with which he graduated in architecture on 21 December last. “I studied in depth - continues Valerio - the restoration carried out in the years 1883 \ 5 by Giuseppe Partini and then that of 1954”.
The five-year single-cycle thesis in architecture required a very thorough bibliographic study during which Valerio carried out extensive analytical research in the archives of the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage of Siena. Another essential step was the diocese of Arezzo since up to the 1950s this collegiate church was part of it.
"The most interesting aspect - says Valerio - is the evolution that the monument has experienced, the changes, the growth of the building as a whole, the construction of the bell tower, which then tilted considerably, the various restorations, the static problems due to the addition of the various bells. These are always interesting evolutions because over time two different restoration concepts and two ways of reading history have taken place.
Partini eliminated the baroque vestiges because he sought the purity of the Romanesque. In 1954 the plasters were eliminated to recover the exposed masonry ". The main peculiarity of this Collegiate is how the round dome develops from a square plan.
"It is practically a unicum - says Valerio - between the transept and the nave an external octagonal structure called the lantern with a cylindrical interior was placed at the time. Its peculiarity lies precisely in the system of double pendentives created to create the transition from the square of the cross to the circle of the dome ".
In short, as the studies for the thesis proceeded, the graduate student and Professor Matracchi increased their awareness of finding themselves in the presence of a small wonder.
Now that Valerio has graduated, there is no mention of finishing his studies. The discoveries made have increased interest and therefore other studies are being launched by the Department of Architecture of the Florentine University.