Raffaello's 'Miracolo degli impiccati' digitized in gigapixel by Haltadefinizione

The Direzione regionale musei della Toscana, with support from Franco Cosimo Panini Editore's tech company, has digitized the 'Miracolo degli impiccati' attributed to Raphael. The work is housed in the Museo nazionale di Palazzo Reale in Pisa and is considered a youthful piece by the Urbino master. It was part of the predella of the 'Incoronazione di San Nicola da Tolentino' altarpiece, commissioned in 1500 by Andrea di Tommaso Baronci for his chapel in Sant'Agostino, Città di Castello. Damaged by an earthquake in 1789, the altarpiece was dismembered; its parts are now in Italian museums, the Louvre, and Detroit. The 'Miracolo degli impiccati' entered the Palazzo Reale collection in 1970 after the seizure of the Schiff Giorgini collection. The scene depicts Saint Nicholas saving two brothers from hanging. Scholars debate the attribution, with Raphael's hand recognized in the central part. Haltadefinizione's gigapixel technology allows detailed examination of brushstrokes and craquelure. Luca Ponzio, founder of Haltadefinizione, stated that the image enables investigation of every detail with micron precision. Fabrizio Vallelonga, director of the Museo nazionale di Palazzo Reale, noted the project's importance during the pandemic, allowing the work to be valued on the 500th anniversary of Raphael's death. The digitized work is freely accessible on Haltadefinizione's website.