Republic of Ancona 16 March 1500

Among the many petitions of the people of Ancona that the Elders dealt with each day, they also fielded petitions from the clergy of the realm in domestic terms, those that dealt with day-to-day operations of the churches of Ancona and weren’t necessary to escalate to up the Papal hierarchy. Today, the Bishop of Ancona came with a personal petition to the high families of the Republic.

Heavy rains in January had unfortunately seeped through long-standing cracks in the Cathedral’s dome and damaged the frescos on the ceiling. Shortly thereafter, an altar boy improperly stored candles after a Mass and a small fire broke out that, while handled before it spread to the structure of the Cathedral, heavily damaged frescos on the apse.

The Bishop explained that while tithes and Papal funds would fund the structural repairs necessary to the roof of the dome, the Diocese’s coffers were not full enough for a full renovation of the damaged frescos (he added notes on the status of the Roman [m. Byzantine] balustrades and other decorative/artistic needs). The petition from the Bishop, therefore, was for the Patrician Families of Ancona, from their wealth, patronize a great artist of the land to paint the Cathedral’s frescos in the manner worthy of the glory of God and the Church.

After careful deliberation, the Elders agreed that this would be something they would undertake, and that the financial burden would fall on the Ferretti family as the artist’s patrons. Next came discussion of artists. First considered was students of Leonardo Da Vinci, though the Ferretti, for some personal artistic reasons, seem to dislike the work of Da Vinci. Fermo Ferretti, the scion of the family, referenced the work of Bernardino Luini. The final decision was to offer patronage not to Liuni, but one of Liuni’s contemporaries in Milan, who may have recently lost patronage as the noble and now is looking for more work. Gaudenzio Ferrari would be the man that messages were sent to, offering him the large project of painting the dome, apse and frescos of the Cathedral of Ancona – he would be paid a modest sum of [please I want my sheet] and given residence in the manor of Ferretti.