The restoration of the icon known as the Madonna of the Pantheon was presented yesterday in Rome. The icon of the Madonna of the Pantheon, dated to the years of the Basilica's consecration in 609 A.D., was restored 63 years after the first and only time thanks to funds provided by sponsor Bulgari. The work lasted 8 months and was characterized by a campaign of study and research, innovative diagnostic and scientific choices and the use of state-of-the-art technology. The work, made in tempera on elm wood, is closely linked by tradition to the date of May 13, 609 A.D., when Pope Boniface IV, having received the Pantheon as a gift from the Byzantine Emperor Phoca, decided to consecrate the place to all Christian martyrs and to the Virgin of St. Mary ad Martyres. On that same occasion, the Pope received the icon of the Blessed Virgin made according to oral narrative by the Apostle Luke, to whom history attributes many other Marian icons. The ancient Madonna of St. Luke, known as the Madonna of the Pantheon, has been kept in the main hall ever since, facing centuries of history and events. The icon depicts Our Lady Odigitria, a term of Greek origin meaning "she who leads", with her right hand facing the Child, indicating the way of salvation and truth. In 1961, after restoration by Carlo Bertelli, it was placed in the Basilica's inner chapel, the so-called Winter Chapel, for conservation reasons. Instead, in the center of the Pantheon's apse, just above the high altar, the copy made in 1959 by Geneviève Garnier still stands. Now the icon will be placed once again in the Winter Chapel, in an area of the monumental complex that in the coming months, when the ongoing redevelopment work is completed, will be available for public enjoyment thanks to a program of dedicated guided tours.
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