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In: Atti del III congresso nazionale dell’IGIIC, Palermo 22-24 settembre 2005, Palermo: Nardini editore. 558-565
This article describes in Italian the restoration of the wall paintings of the Amirya madrasa, one of the most significant ancient structures of the city of Radà, in the north of Yemen. The building was commissioned by the sultan Amir bin Abd al-Wahhab of the Tahirid Dinasty, in 1504. Richly decorated on the interior, the building contains elaborate and brightly colored tempera wall paintings in the prayer hall. They were painted on gypsum plaster and are surrounded by an intricately carved stucco frieze. The paintings cover most of the walls and fill all six domes, some 600 m2 of surface. They represent a unique example of Islamic decorative motifs, and act as a synthesis of 500 years of wall-painting tradition in Yemen. The restoration treatment of the paintings in the prayer hall, performed by the CCA, Centro di Conservazione Archeologica, was the final phase of a complex program of recovery and conservation of the monument, which had been heavily damaged by earthquakes and 500 years of neglect. It was carried out completely with traditional techniques and materials and with great ethical care in a joint program directed by Prof. Selma al-Radi, and financed by the governments of Italy, the Netherlands and Yemen.
Author(s): Zizola, C.
Year Published: 2005
Language / Translations: Italiano