September 2024

Berta's restoration

intelligence

by Olmo Cerri and Chiara Lumia

produced by City of Locarno - Museo Civico Castello Visconteo

MUSEUM VIDEO

The Visconti Castle in Locarno, is a monument of great historical and architectural value. In this documentary we explore the fascinating history of this building, special attention is paid to the restoration of the castle carried out in the 1920s by Edoardo Berta. Although he was known primarily as a painter, Berta distinguished himself for his sensitive and respectful approach to monument restoration. Guided by a deep respect for the building, his intervention proved refined and cultured. Accompanied by architect Chiara Lumia, a scholar of the castle's history, we discover the details and particularities of this restoration, preparing us for the future planned conservation work.

Direction and editing: Olmo Cerri

Photography: Edoardo Nerboni

Texts and historical research: Chiara Lumia

Produced by: City of Locarno - Museo Civico Castello Visconteo

Supported by:

Republic and Canton of Ticino - Swisslos Fund

UBS Foundation for Culture

Società Elettrica Sopracenerina SA

REC Association

SKKG - Stiftung für Kunst, Kultur und Geschichte

Technical sponsors:

AGevent

REC Association

Narrator: Simone Visparelli

Graphics: Delia Schneider Rizza

Drawings, photographs, documents and prints from:

City of Locarno Archives

Federal Archives of Historic Monuments, Swiss National Library, Bern

Archives Museum Villa dei Cedri, Bellinzona

State Archives of the Canton of Ticino, Bellinzona

Archives Office of Cultural Heritage, Bellinzona

Vaud Cantonal Archives, Lausanne

Bibliothèque de Genève

ETH-Bibliothek, Zurich

Zentralbibliothek Zürich

Universität Zürich, UZH Archiv

Alessandro Bottero Balli Collection

Tallone Family Collection

Chiara Lumia, Elisa Bigatti, Jacopo Gilardi, Martina Medolago, Locarno Castle - Preliminary study for the conservative

restoration, Locarno, 2019

Johann Rudolph Rahn, The historical and artistic monuments of the Middle Ages in the Canton of Ticino, Bellinzona, 1894.

Thanks are due to:

RSI - Swiss Radio and Television for providing the drone images: Oscar Acciari, Simon Brazzola and Dino Martignoni.

Architects Chiara Cattarini and Otto Krausbeck.

Alessandro Rais.

The staff of the Museo Civico Castello Visconteo

Realization:

Associazione REC, Lugano

© City of Locarno, September 2024