The Crucifix Gallino (after the surname of the Turin antiquarian who sold it to the Italian state in 2008) is a little wooden sculpture (41.3×39.7 cm) representing the crucifixion of Jesus, who remains without the cross, dated to around 1495-1497 and attributed to Michelangelo Buonarroti. Despite the original allusion to linden wood, the piece is most likely composed of poplar essence.
The Crucifix, originally intended for private devotion, came into the possession of Turin antiquarian Giancarlo Gallino before being attributed to Michelangelo, a stance that most experts disagree with. In fact, the criticism was divided into two camps: those who considered it the work of the Tuscan sculptor and those who, on the other hand, saw it as a serial or semi-series work of an artistic tradition, that of the Woods, which was very alive in Florence during the Renaissance.
As a result, he sparked widespread confusion and an investigation by the criminal and accounting courts into the Italian government’s choice to commit a major cash for his purchase. In February 2012, the Prosecutor of the Court of Auditors filed a lawsuit against the then-general manager of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Roberto Cecchi, the Superintendent of the Florentine Museum Center, Cristina Acidini, and four Ministry officials.
In September 2013, the Court of Auditors released its decision on the case (n. 643 of 2013 of the Lazio Section) and ruled that the accused were exempt from tax liability since, in the opinion of the college, the harm was not precisely evaluated by the tax authorities. The same sentence, however, has moved in several ways to the conduct that the subjects evoked in court held in the phase that preceded the formalization of the State’s purchase of the artifact, judging the procedure for assessing the actual attribution of the ‘Opera to Buonarroti inadequate and insufficient.
The crucifix was given to the Florentine Museum Center. Since October 2011, the piece has been meant for the Bargello Museum, where it has found its permanent exhibition site in a display case in the chapel of the Podestà, accompanied by a caption attributed to “Anonymous Florentine carver” since April 4, 2012.
If you want know more about Florence and it’s history come with us, we are running a free walking tour from Santa Maria Novella square in front of Minerva hotel it’s our meeting point.There you have the possibility to meet our great guides that are very happy to show our city to you.
