A nasty surprise for cleaners this afternoon who had arrived to clean the church of Santissimo Crocifisso.
The Baroque altar in gilded wood by Francesco Santini of Cerreto, dating from 1646 had been damaged by vandals.
The vandals also broke through two side doors leading to rooms situated behind the high altar and even climbed onto the altar itself, although fortunately, the only damage was the partial shattering of the protective glass covering the sculpture.
The niche beneath the altar, which contains ancient relics and is also protected by glass, was not damaged.
The last time it had been cleaned was during the Easter period, so it is impossible to determine when this act of vandalism took place, although it probably occurred during daylight hours as the church is closed in the evening.
The Baroque altar in gilded wood by Francesco Santini was damaged in 2015 by thieves who removed by force two of the wooden and gilded angel faces which were on either side of the alter.
Santissimo Crocifisso
You can reach the Piazza of Santissimo Crocifisso from three different points: from Via della Speranza down a short spacious flight of steps; from Via di Mezzo by coming up the Via della Rota and the steps of the Crocifisso; and from Piazza Angelio by coming up Via del Duomo. On your way up this latter street you pass, on the right, the recently restored Palazzo Pucci on the corner of Vicolo del Cavallaio, and on the left, the Vicolo Giannotti and the Vicolo Nardi.The church of Santissimo Crocifisso is well worth a visit. The original part was built during the 13th Century which makes it the oldest church in Barga after the Duomo. The inside has recently been magnificently restored and in addition to a number of paintings from the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries you will find a Baroque altar in gilded wood by Francesco Santini of Cerreto, dated 25 April 1646, a beautiful wooden crucifix from 1400 encased on the altar, and in the chancel, a lovely carved wooden choir stall.
Via della Speranza itself leads to Piazza Beato Michele and the Presbytery, but facing the Piazza of the Santissima Crocifisso, there is a steep flight of stone steps which goes up to the Aringo and the Duomo dedicated to St. Christopher, which are situated at the highest point in Barga.
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Una spiacevole sorpresa per le addette alle pulizie questo pomeriggio, che erano arrivate per pulire la chiesa del Santissimo Crocifisso.
L’altare barocco in legno dorato di Francesco Santini di Cerreto, risalente al 1646, è stato danneggiato dai vandali.
I vandali hanno anche forzato due porte laterali che conducono alle stanze situate dietro l’altare maggiore e sono persino saliti sull’altare stesso, anche se per fortuna l’unico danno è stato la rottura parziale del vetro protettivo che copre la scultura.
La nicchia sotto l’altare, che contiene antiche reliquie ed è anch’essa protetta da vetro, non è stata danneggiata.
L’ultima volta che è stata pulita risale al periodo pasquale, quindi è impossibile determinare quando si sia verificato questo atto vandalico, anche se probabilmente è avvenuto durante le ore diurne poiché la chiesa è chiusa la sera.
L’altare barocco in legno dorato di Francesco Santini è stato danneggiato nel 2015 da dei ladri che hanno rimosso con la forza due volti di angeli in legno dorato che si trovavano ai lati dell’altare. [Source: link]
