Art under a new light

Santa Caterina's Oratorio
Ponte a Ema, Bagno a Ripoli
Firenze
www.oratoriodisantacaterina.it

Arch.Giovanni Spezza

The Oratory of St. Catherine of Wheels in Rimezzano, named after the ditch that runs nearby, was built in 1354 and located on the hills south of the river Arno. It is one of the most prominent and oldest examples of a series of buildings that over the centuries have transformed the countryside around Florence in a kind of urban sprawl that could be defined, as authoritatively written, "Perhaps the most moving landscape in the world."

The interior space is impressive  due to the beautiful decoration in fresh that, almost taking advantage of the linear spaces created by architecture and in contrast with the Oratory’s rustic outer skin, is stretched on the surface, telling the story of St. Catherine, martyr of Alexandria.

Preservation and suggestion
In the museum there are precious and delicate works of art. The lighting system pays particular attention to their preservation, using LED fixtures generating a light that emits no ultraviolet (UV) or infrared (IR). The LED technology is the perfect solution for the proper arrangement of the museum, able to combine safety and scene presentation.

We can’t forget the symbolic significance of light in the frescoes of the Oratory, telling  the story of St. Catherine of Alexandria: the material light becomes representation of spiritual and divine light.

Symbolic value of the light
The representation of lights and shadows is by nature very complex within a framework; the relationship between shadow, light and objects creates our vision of reality and painters have always been dealing with it.

On the basis of the old lighting system new metal rods were placed  to support groups of fixtures generating a precise light, focused on the features to bring out.
This solution was a flexible instrument in the museum, it helped creating the play of shadows and special effects of light to illuminate the striking architectural interior spaces of the Oratory.