The city of Vatican possesses, apart from the countless treasures in its museums, other valuable items that no one can ignore, even less someone within the stone industry. We refer to the floorings. When one walks inside the Basilica of Saint Peter or in the Museums one does not know where to start looking at the works of art that are all over the place. The rich designs of the pavements in stone have been maintained with the same splendour since its creation thanks to the labour of a company with a really striking name: Medici.
Since the construction of the Vatican buildings there have been several additions, it has been necessary to restore and replace several floorings due to deterioration and, for more than 160 years, there has been a company in charge of this task : the Ditta Medici. This company was founded in the year 1838 by Luigi Medici. The company has a staff of 12 people, at the head of which is Priscilla Grazioli Medici, the 17th generation of this family dedicated to art since several centuries.
Since the designation of Ditta Medici as the "Marble Professional of the Vatican" in the year 1871, the work of maintenance, restoration and new creations has been constant in the City of Vatican, in the Saint Peter Square, the Basilica, The Papal Palaces, the gardens and the Vatican Museums.
Owing to the antiquity of these pavements and the enormous variety of stones, above all marbles, which were used in its elaboration, many of these materials do not exist and it is very difficult to find them. Way back in the XVII century those doing restoration came across the problem of not finding marbles used in its construction and other materials had to be resorted to. Seeing the different floors, we noted differences according to the epoch in which they were built. Till the sixteenth century, the incrustations of marble were small pieces cut without elaborating. In the sixteenth century elaborated pieces of bigger sizes began to be used, with a thickness of 2 to 4 cm. From the seventeenth century onward thickness of 1 cm were achieved, and in some cases one can even see pieces of 3 to 4 mm, all of them with a practically manual methodology.
The marbles that have been used in the floors of the Vatican are registered in a book written by Priscilla Grazilioli Medici. In this book the different names given to the materials are listed, the majority proceeding from Italy, though we can also find marbles from Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Norway, Portugal and Spain, among other countries. In this publication there is also a detailed study of all the restoration work and maintenance effected by the company since its creation. From this study one understands that work has been going on constantly.
Till two centuries ago when a pavement deteriorated, it was not restored, simply a new one was built, though the same design was maintained. The part that deteriorated was dismounted and thrown away. Sometimes a marble flooring was even reproduced with other materials but with similar colours but this procedure, fortunately, never met with success. In the latest restorations realised by Ditta Medici the same marbles as the original, were used. Most of the restorations have been done in the workshop, not in the Vatican. Some specific type of job, such as the reinsertion of encrustation that had separated, are logically done in situ, but the most frequent process is to take the deteriorated piece to the workshop. In its warehouse in Rome Ditta Medici stocks a wide range of ancient marbles proceeding from floors previously retired from the Vatican so as to be substituted by others, slabs and even small blocks from quarries which do not exist any longer, some of which have been waiting for more than three centuries to be utilised in the next restoration work. The parts not deteriorated have been classified and stored, even the smallest pieces are conserved just in case they be necessary in a restoration, for example, of some of the coat of arms that can be seen in the different parts of the Vatican.
The work of Ditta Medici involves a lot of craftsmanship though modern technology is also used when necessary. The designs are done on the computer, but the drafts are painted reproducing the veins of the marbles. It is the mother of the Director, Mrs Vera Medici, who is in charge of this work, following the same style and technique as her ancestors, as can be seen in the design archives which the company conserves since centuries. The cutting of marble for encrustation is done using laser and there is a pantograph for the engraving of the letters in stone.
Ditta Medici, apart from doing jobs for the Vatican, has also worked for several public institutions such as the Presidency of the Republic in the Quirinal Palace, the Senate, the Congress and the Ministry of Culture through which it has done restoration in historic buildings in Rome and other parts of Italy.
Some of the latest jobs done for the Vatican have been the restoration of the pavement of the Hall of Palafreneros and of the Hall of the Noble Guards in 1986, the elaboration of the coat of arms of John Paul ll, designed by Lello Scorzelli, with antique marble and hard stones such as yellow and ancient red, castracane of Jaisalmer and pink and green stone of Cracow, with letters in bronze, or the complete restoration of all the flooring of the Hall of the Animals in the Museum Pio-Clementine the work of this lasted a year (1988-1989). In the year 1990 diverse jobs for the gallery of the Papal Palace in Castelgandolfo were done. At times the designs of the new creations are elaborated in the Vatican and the Medicis are charged with the elaboration but the majority of the flooring and coat of arms that we see in the Vatican Museums, in the Palaces and the Basilica of Saint Peter come from the family Medici.
The family has already worked for ten popes, some more interested in art than others. Lately the Vatican has not been making major investments in restoration work and, moreover, the tastes of the Holy See tend towards simplicity. Therefore, currently there are not many jobs in the Vatican, and the main activity of this company in these moments is the restoration of interiors of other historical buildings, apart from working for a highly selective private clientele.
Ms Medici herself recognises that it is very difficult nowadays to continue with this kind of artisan work. It is hard to find qualified young people who are capable of valuing the art that is behind these creations. Through her workshop have passed several aspirants but have not stuck on. When speaking with Ms Medici what stands out is she is in love with marble but, with marble well utilised, treated and installed. She affirms that her work is meant for people who have not only money but also possess good taste.
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