Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio per la città metropolitana di Venezia

La pala ribaltabile di Malamocco

Restauro e ricerche

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Abstract

The Church of Santa Maria Assunta in Malamocco houses a rare example of an early fifeteenth-century folding altarpiece. Featuring a gilded, carved front and a painted reverse, it blends narrative and iconic modes with both Byzantine and Venetian stylistic elements. Recent restoration by Save Venice uncovered previously unnoticed traces of inscriptions and figures on the reverse, allowing for the first reconstruction of its original program. Much like the Pala d’Oro in Saint Mark’s, this study also investigates how the Malamocco altarpiece played a central role in local religious life, with its gilded front revealed during public ceremonies.


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Submitted: July 10, 2025 | Published Dec. 17, 2025 | Language: it

Keywords Cult of saint • Folding altarpiece • Caterino Moranzon • Relics • Byzantium, Venice • Dormition of the Virgin

Copyright © 2025 Enrica Colombini, Gabriele Matino. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/978-88-6969-943-6/004


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