Six Baroque stucco sculptures restored at Teatro Farnese in Parma

Six stucco sculptures from the Teatro Farnese in Parma—three standard-bearers, two angels, and a woman adorned with flowers, part of an allegorical group between War and Peace—have undergone a major restoration project promoted by the Complesso monumentale della Pilotta and fully funded by the Zurich-based philanthropic foundation Fondazione Isabel e Balz Baechi. Created in 1617 by Ticinese sculptor Luca Retti and his workshop in just five months, the works were severely damaged by bombings in 1944 and now survive in fragmentary condition. Two had never been restored, while the other four, treated in the 1970s, required deep revision. Restorers Elena Zichichi and Elena Russo, under the direction of Gisella Pollastro, are performing cleaning, consolidation, and partial reintegration, respecting the original polychrome materials (straw, ropes, cloth, and metal armatures). The restoration is an open workshop in the Sala del Trionfo, visible to visitors. A digital component will virtually re-place the sculptures in a 3D reconstruction of the original theater scenery, as they cannot be physically reinstalled. The project aims to recover not only the forms but also the historical and artistic context, continuing the post-war reconstruction of memory.