Prologue: History of the building and restoration of the trecento church

The church of Santa Maria Donna Regina in Naples is a rare example of aristocratic convent architecture in Italy, designed and built for the devotional use of the Clarissan nuns. The first book in English about this important church, the volume “The Church of Santa Maria Donna Regina”, is also the first full-scale study to bring together innovative interdisciplinary research on the building. The authors explore themes relating to the architecture, decoration, sculpture, iconography, audience, liturgy, and patronage of Santa Maria Donna Regina, enriching our understanding of the art patronage of royal women and the monastic experience of Clarissan nuns, as well as the politics, culture and patronage of Trecento Naples. In the essay “Prologue: History of the building and restoration of the trecento church”, the author observes that Gino Chierici, "Soprintendente all'arte medioevale e moderna", planned and directed the restoration of the church, which he carried out between 1928 and 1934 thanks to painstaking philological research, to excellent management of the workmanship, and to mastery of the construction technìques. The author stresses moreover that from 1969 the church and its attached buildings have been the seat of the "Scuola di specializzazione in Restauro dei monumenti", which forms part of the Università 'Federico II' di Napoli. As such it is a centre of teaching and cultural activities at a national and international level and its present use has helped to ensure the survival of the architectural complex. This use confirms the importance of the principle of conservation integrated into contemporary life, a principle that removes the barriers between the original building and modern life, and signals, on the part of the community, the reappropriation of its historical and artistic patrimony.