The Loggia dei Mercanti in Ancona between history and restoration
The Loggia dei Mercanti in Ancona is one of the rare surviving examples of a building intended for the institutional activity of the merchant associations which has maintained its intended use uninterruptedly since its construction to date. The Loggia, in fact, built in the first half of the fifteenth century, is still owned by the Ancona Chamber of Commerce. The architect, sculptor and contractor of the works was the Dalmatian Giorgio di Matteo da Zara, between 1451 and 1459, and the Loggia, together with the cathedral of S. Giacomo in Sibenik, can be considered one of his absolute masterpieces. The interiors, damaged by a fire, were frescoed in a mannerist style by Pellegrino Tibaldi in 1558. The bombing of Ancona in 1943-44 WW2 did not spare the Loggia which suffered damage precisely in the frescoed ceiling. The recent restorations (1998-2002) took place outside for the architectural restoration of the facade and its sculptures, then inside with the conservative restoration of the surviving frescoes of the vault, and of the sixteenth and eighteenth century sculptural systems, finally with the design of the furnishings of the conference room.
