Akko is full of history and was already mentioned in the Bible. North of Haifa, a few kilometers from Lebanon, it attained the peak of its importance during the Crusader period, when all the military orders had fixed their residence there and its harbour was a compulsory destination for pilgrims on their way to visiting the Holy Land.
Today some 35,000 Jews and 13,000 Arabs, including about a thousand Christians, live in Akko. The Custody is also present here, with the Terra Sancta School and Father Quirico Calella, who brought Giotto to Akko.
For some years now, the Custody of the Holy Land has had this splendid reproduction of the Scrovegni Chapel, a photographic reconstruction in scale 1:4 of the cycle of frescoes painted by the Tuscan maestro between 1303 and 1305, commissioned by Enrico degli Scrovegni. Episodes from the life of Mary and Jesus are shown in succession on the walls of the Chapel, and Giotto portrayed the Last Judgement on the counter-façade.
Designed and set up by Giorgio Deganello, organized by Itaca, the exhibition - promoted by ATS pro Terra Sancta - was given to the Custody by the City Council of Padua, and after having been on display in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Jaffa, has at last come to Akko, where it was presented on Wednesday 11th May by Dr. Rivka Tamara Sevy, art historian and expert in restoration. Also present was the Chairman of the Italian Institute for Culture of Haifa, Giovanni Pillonca, the Deputy Mayor of the city and former pupil of the Custody’s school in Akko, Adham Jamal and Father Quirico Calella.
The reproduction of the Padua Chapel is on display at the Citadel, which was built in the times of the Crusaders and was once the seat of the Order of the Knights of St. John. In the years when prosperous Akko was the meeting place for many pilgrims, Giotto was painting the frescoes commissioned by Enrico Scrovegni. Giotto relied on the accounts of people who had been to the Holy Land for an appropriate setting for the events he narrated in his work, a context in which he was perfectly at ease. Moreover, the artist already had a long-standing relationship with the Franciscans, for whom he had painted the frescoes at the Basilica of Assisi and the Basilica of St. Anthony in Padua.
The exhibition, set up by some volunteers who work for the Custody, can be visited until June 20th.
Written by Serena Picariello
GIOTTO IN HOLY LAND
Frescoes of the Scrovegni Chapel
May 10, 2011- June 20, 2011 Acre - Knights Halls
Open: Sun-Thu 08:30-17:15; Fri -Sat 08:30-16:15
Free entrance for guided groups of Akko schools
Free guided tours - Reservation required
Today some 35,000 Jews and 13,000 Arabs, including about a thousand Christians, live in Akko. The Custody is also present here, with the Terra Sancta School and Father Quirico Calella, who brought Giotto to Akko.
For some years now, the Custody of the Holy Land has had this splendid reproduction of the Scrovegni Chapel, a photographic reconstruction in scale 1:4 of the cycle of frescoes painted by the Tuscan maestro between 1303 and 1305, commissioned by Enrico degli Scrovegni. Episodes from the life of Mary and Jesus are shown in succession on the walls of the Chapel, and Giotto portrayed the Last Judgement on the counter-façade.
Designed and set up by Giorgio Deganello, organized by Itaca, the exhibition - promoted by ATS pro Terra Sancta - was given to the Custody by the City Council of Padua, and after having been on display in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Jaffa, has at last come to Akko, where it was presented on Wednesday 11th May by Dr. Rivka Tamara Sevy, art historian and expert in restoration. Also present was the Chairman of the Italian Institute for Culture of Haifa, Giovanni Pillonca, the Deputy Mayor of the city and former pupil of the Custody’s school in Akko, Adham Jamal and Father Quirico Calella.
The reproduction of the Padua Chapel is on display at the Citadel, which was built in the times of the Crusaders and was once the seat of the Order of the Knights of St. John. In the years when prosperous Akko was the meeting place for many pilgrims, Giotto was painting the frescoes commissioned by Enrico Scrovegni. Giotto relied on the accounts of people who had been to the Holy Land for an appropriate setting for the events he narrated in his work, a context in which he was perfectly at ease. Moreover, the artist already had a long-standing relationship with the Franciscans, for whom he had painted the frescoes at the Basilica of Assisi and the Basilica of St. Anthony in Padua.
The exhibition, set up by some volunteers who work for the Custody, can be visited until June 20th.
Written by Serena Picariello
GIOTTO IN HOLY LAND
Frescoes of the Scrovegni Chapel
May 10, 2011- June 20, 2011 Acre - Knights Halls
Open: Sun-Thu 08:30-17:15; Fri -Sat 08:30-16:15
Free entrance for guided groups of Akko schools
Free guided tours - Reservation required