mail: Bill Thayer

Italiano

Help

Up

Home

Art Theft at S. Simeone
(near Stroncone, in Umbria)

The plaster on the walls of this chapel seems to have fallen off.

Let's zoom in, though, on the attractive fresco on the left, representing S. Bernardino di Siena.

A bit more zoom, to see the precise scalpeling away of the saint's face and hands. This is no accident:

We can safely say that the center panel — my guess: either a Crucifixion or St. Francis receiving the stigmata — was stolen whole; but that the thieves didn't feel it was worth the trouble to take all of S. Bernardino, above: just his face and his hands.

This damage to a small altar in the nave of the church is no accident either: the oval stone boss in the center of the altar front was saleable; it may also have contained relics. The rest is just plaster.

An earthquake may have started the destruction, but just in case you missed it:

Chisel left behind by the thief; they're going to come back.

Images with borders lead to more information. The thicker the border, the more information. (Details here.)
UP TO:	S. Simeone	Stroncone	Umbria	Italy	Home
SEE ALSO:	Diary	Churches of Umbria				Endangered Heritage
A page or image on this site is in the public domain ONLY if its URL has a total of one *asterisk. If the URL has two **asterisks, the item is copyright someone else, and used by permission or fair use. If the URL has none the item is © Bill Thayer. See my copyright page for details and contact information.

Accessibility