It popped out of one of the warehouses of the Palace of Caserta, the statue - considered lost - of the crown prince Charles Titus of Bourbon, made by Giuseppe Sanmartino.
The statue depicts the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Naples, son of King Ferdinand IV and Queen Maria Carolina, who died of smallpox at the age of three: he was rmade in 1775, in soft stone, by the author of the famous Veiled Christ, Giuseppe Sanmartino, and It was present in the ancient inventories of the Royal Palace from the late 1800s.
Sunday October 3 on the occasion of the 'XVIII National Day of Friends of Museums', the statue will be exhibited at the Reggia.
The official of the Royal Palace tells the story of the discovery Valeria DiFratta"A few months ago the director Tiziana Maffei asked me to come to the warehouse because there was a statue of a sleeping newborn that she thought was of great artistic interest. As soon as I saw it I was struck, it immediately seemed to me to be of great quality, and from the features, I thought that the author could be traced among the major representatives of Neapolitan sculpture of the 700th century; the first name that came to mind was that of Giuseppe Sanmartino; consulting the monograph, the documents reported a sculpture of the newborn crown prince, namely Carlo Tito di Borbone, first male child of the rulers of the Two Sicilies, a sculpture present in the collections of the Reggia at least since 1879".
"When I saw the statue I said to myself that it was too beautiful not to know who it represented and who it belonged to. – says the director Tiziana Maffei, excited – and then for us women it also has another meaning; when it was discovered, Valeria Di Fratta had recently had a son, and she sent me photos of the statue continuously. Behind the rigor and the study there is always the emotion and the life of the people".
The statue will be restored inside the Restoration Laboratories of the Royal Palace of Caserta by Anna Manzone, supported by specific consultancy from a restorer with thirty years of experience in the sector, made possible thanks to the contribution of the Amici della Reggia di Caserta association.
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Caserta – An unmissable opportunity for culture lovers: on Sunday, December 7, the Royal Palace of Caserta is participating in the Ministry of Culture's "Sunday at the Museum" initiative, offering free admission to the Vanvitelli Complex. The Royal Apartments and Royal Park are open to the public, while some areas, such as the Vanvitelli Rooms, the Amelio Room, and the Court Theater, will remain closed.
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