Piero Sanpaolesi e il laboratorio scientifico di Firenze

At the Royal Galleries of Florence, and in particular at the Uffizi Gallery, a Restoration Cabinet has been active since the early 20th century. In the 1930s, the Restoration Cabinet was installed in the premises known as the “Old Post Office” in the Uffizi complex. With the occasion of the move, a broader project was launched that saw, in addition to the already existing Restoration Cabinet and Photographic Cabinet, the creation of a series of laboratories dedicated to diagnostics, in particular X-ray, ultraviolet, pinacography and microscopy. From 1934, Ugo Procacci, directed this la-boratory, assisted by Piero Sanpaolesi, who took over the technical direction of the Restoration Cabinet. Despite the large number of studies and publications by and about the founder of the Institute for the Restoration of Monuments, little is known about his work in his early years at the Uffizi. Through the documents in the private archives and a re-reading of those held at the various conservation institutes, it is possible to shed light on Sanpaolesi’s early experiences in the scientific and interdisciplinary approach to Restoration.