WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2762/97 by Lucio MANISCO to the Commission. Restoration of Verrocchio's 'Baptism of Christ'
Date: 1997-09-01
Institutions: European Parliament, MANISCO
Subjects: cultural heritage, heritage protection, painting, principle of subsidiarity, scientific profession

C 102/112

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

3. 4. 98

2.
Implementation of Directive 96/67/EC is without prejudice to the application of the competition rules laid
down in the EC Treaty. As part of the proceedings, the Commission has to establish whether Frankfurt airport
committed an abuse of a dominant position by establishing for itself, without any objective need, a monopoly in
the supply of groundhandling services. The arguments regarding capacity and available space put forward by the
parties are being examined in this respect.

(1)  OJ L 272, 25.10.1996.

(98/C 102/162)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2762/97

by Lucio Manisco (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(1 September 1997)

Subject: Restoration of Verrocchio(cid:146)s (cid:145)Baptism of Christ(cid:146)

Professor  Alfio  della  Serra  of  the  Uffizi  Gallery  in  Florence  has  begun  restoring  the  (cid:145)Baptism  of  Christ(cid:146),  a
Renaissance masterpiece with figures and landscape painted by Leonardo da Vinci and an angel attributed to
Botticelli, which is of incalculable value not only to the European Union but to the whole of mankind.

Objections of various kinds have been raised concerning the way in which the restoration work is being carried
out  and  how  urgent  it  is  by  Professor  Carlo  Pedretti  and  Jacques  Franck,  eminent  experts  on  Leonardo(cid:146)s
paintings, and by James Beck of Colombia University, Chairman of Art Watch International, who, dissatisfied by
the information on the subject supplied by the Curator of the Uffizi, has lodged an appeal to the courts calling for
the restoration work to be suspended.

1. What urgent steps does the Commission intend to take to allay the fears felt by the international art world
concerning the preservation of Verrocchio(cid:146)s (cid:145)Baptism of Christ(cid:146), not least because of the fierce polemic on the
subject?

2. What steps will the Commission take to ensure greater transparency concerning the methods used and the
reasons for the restoration work decided by the Curator of the Uffizi Gallery, Anna Maria Petrioli Tofani?

Answer given by Mr Oreja on behalf of the Commission

(20 October 1997)

Firstly, the Commission would like to state that its role in safeguarding the cultural heritage, based on Article 128
of the EC Treaty, is confined to supporting and supplementing action by the Member States. In accordance with
the principle of subsidiarity, it is not empowered to intervene in matters falling exclusively within the jurisdiction
of the Member States, such as the restoration of a work belonging to the Italian national heritage.

However, in this specific case, the Commission checked that the methods used to restore Verrocchio’s painting
were those commonly and correctly applied by the Uffizi Gallery in its professional work.

The  scientific  rigour  of  the  current  restoration  is  not  open  to  doubt,  as  was  confirmed,  moreover,  by  the
Soprintendente  of  Florence  himself.  He  has  already  defended  the  restoration  work  in  an  answer  to  a
parliamentary question similar to the one put by the Honourable Member in the Italian Parliament.