 ARenaissancefrescohidden for 300 years has been rediscovered in Spain - thanks to nesting pigeons.
Art restorers working in Valencia's cathedralspottedthe birds flying through a hole in what turned out to be a false ceiling and were intrigued. They stuck a digital camera in the gap and shot pictures that showed a well-preserved 15th century Italian fresco. It is one of the earliest and most important examples of such Renaissance art in Spain, experts say. The fresco, whichdepictsfour angels against a starry blue background, was painted by two Italians, Francesco Pagano and Paolo de San Leocadio, in the late 1400s. They were commissioned by apapalenvoy, Rodrigo Borja, a Spaniard who went on to become Pope Alexander VI in 1492. The fresco was covered up by aBaroqueceiling, believed to have been constructed around 1670, likely as a result of changing artistic tastes. Normally, baroque artists covering up an existing fresco wouldscrape it off,art historian Fernando Lopez told reporters. "This time they did not. They left anair pocket. That is the big surprise." The president of Valencia's government, Francisco Camps, said the find was "one of the most important cultural discoveries in recent years" in Spain. (Agencies)
| 在筑巢的鴿子的幫助下，一幅暗藏了300年的文藝復興時期的油畫在西班牙重見天日。 藝術修復者們在對西班牙巴倫西亞大教堂進行修復時，發現鴿子飛進飛出的洞口通往一個假屋頂，這引起了修復者的興趣。 他們把數碼相機擱在缺口上拍照，照片顯示其中有一幅保存完好的15世紀的意大利壁畫。 專家說，這是西班牙發現的最早也是最重要的此類文藝復興時期的藝術品之一。 這幅壁畫描繪的是在布滿星星的藍色背景下的四個天使，它是由兩個意大利人弗朗西斯科·帕伽諾和保羅·圣·雷歐卡迪歐于15世紀末期完成的。 他們受命于羅馬教皇特使羅德里格·波迦，這個西班牙人1492年成為了教皇亞歷山大六世。 這幅壁畫被巴洛克式的屋頂覆蓋住了，這個屋頂據說建于1670年前后，很有可能是藝術風格轉變的結果。 藝術史學家佛納多·洛普茲告訴記者，一般來說巴洛克藝術家們掩蓋已有的壁畫時，會把壁畫刮掉。 “這次他們沒有刮掉壁畫。還留下了氣穴。太令人驚奇了。” 巴倫西亞市市長佛朗西斯科·坎普斯稱該發現是西班牙“近年來最重要的文化發現之一”。 Renaissance：文藝復興時期
fresco：壁畫
spot：認出，發現
depict：描述，描寫
papal：
羅馬教皇的，教皇制度的
Baroque：巴洛克式的
air pocket：氣穴
（中國日報網站譯）
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Updated: 2004-07-05 01:00
