26/09/2001

The layout for Michelangelo’s Pieta` Rondanini at Milan’s Castello Sforzesco is currently the focus of controversy in Italy. The project, by Portuguese architect Alvaro Siza, has cost $ 71,450 (€ 77,400) with plans to divide the Scarlioni Room in two: the first part will be the display of historical information and the second would be to show the Pieta` with the Michelangelo “style” head (that some maintain to be the first version of the Pieta` currently held by the Borghese Gallery in Rome). The new layout has a budget of $ 476,300 (€ 516,400) and there are reports that this project is superfluous compared to the more pressing heritage concerns such as the condition of the tomb of Gaston de Foix del Bambaja in the Castello Sforzesco, Milan. (Annalisa Rossi)