Ufficio città di Firenze

Approval of restoration and/or maintenance projects for moveable assets, wall paintings and decorated surfaces of historic and artistic interest

Any operation that involves the restoration or even the mere maintenance of an asset subject to protection must be authorised by the competent Superintendency (art. 21, subsection 4 of the Code), which performs supervision and the technical-scientific management.

Application must be made to obtain the authorisation via the procedure for the request for permission to carry out restoration work on moveable assets and decorated surfaces pursuant to articles 21 and 31 of the Cultural Heritage and Landscape Code. The authorisation application must be signed by the proprietor, owner or holder of the asset (see pdf form download), in the case of private citizens, on paper with a tax stamp of Euro 14.62 (pursuant to the Decree of the President of the Republic no. 642/72 supplemented by Decree of the President of the Republic no. 955/82, art. 3, relating to any application submitted to a public office for the purpose of issue of an administrative measure), addressed to:

Soprintendenza per il Patrimonio Storico, Artistico ed Etnoantropologico e per il Polo Museale della città d Firenze
Via della Ninna 5
50123 FIRENZE.

The application (see pdf form download) must clearly indicate:

• Details of the location of the asset: municipality, district and address
• Description of the asset to be restored (author, date, material and technique, measurements) and name/title of the asset
• Type of ownership (private individual, body etc.) and details of the same; bodies and companies must also provide details of the legal representative

The following documents must be enclosed with the application:

• 2 copies of a descriptive-historical report, detailing the characteristics of the work and its position in the historic context
• 2 copies of a technical report signed by a professional restorer, indicating the operations that it is intended to perform, the materials to be used and the techniques to be employed for the restoration, complete with photographic documentation
• When the application is made by a parish or other ecclesiastical body, the authorisation of the Diocesan curia, pursuant to article 5 of the agreement between Church and State (Convention dated 13/09/1996, published in Official Journal no. 262 on 8/11/1996)
• 2 copies of a self-certification signed by the proprietor (enclose a photocopy of an identification document of the signatory, pursuant to articles 46 and 47 of the Decree of the President of the Republic no. 445 of 28 December 2000) confirming that no unauthorised operations have been performed

If the proprietor intends to apply for eligibility for a State grant, this request must be enclosed with the application for authorisation for restoration (art. 35 of the Cultural Heritage and Landscape Code), together with the itemised estimate indicating the total cost of the works and a declaration of intention to apply for the subsidy.

After examining the project, the Superintendency issues the authorisation of its competence, including any instructions or provisions which the applicant is bound to abide by. The applicant must also communicate the start and end dates of the works, and must contact the officials responsible, who shall periodically inspect the progress of the works.

NOTE: if the authorisation concerns either frescoes and/or decorated surfaces or architectural elements, the application must be forwarded to the Soprintendenza BSAE e Polo Museale di Firenze e alla Soprintendenza per i Beni Architettonici e Paesaggistici di Firenze, Piazza Pitti 1, which shall duly exchange the authorisation documentation between them for information.

Where the application concerns only frescoes and/or decorated elements, then it should be forwarded to the Soprintendenza PSAE e Polo Museale di Firenze, which shall proceed to transmit the authorisation to the Soprintendenza per i Beni Architettonici e per il Paesaggio for information.