On November 4, 1966, flood waters rushed through the city of Florence, Italy, destroying thousands of priceless artworks in museums and churches. Santa Croce Basilica became a leading symbol of this destruction, as water and mud engulfed the historic structure, severely damaging several treasured paintings, among them Giorgio Vasari’s monumental 1546 panel painting The Last Supper. Now, fifty years after the flood, Santa Croce welcomes The Last Supper back, newly conserved through an international collaboration between the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, the Getty Foundation, Prada, and Protezione Civile.

The structural conservation of the painting was funded by the Getty Foundation as part of its Panel Paintings Initiative, a program that was launched as a joint effort in 2008 between the Getty Foundation, Getty Conservation Institute, and J. Paul Getty Museum. The initiative advances the knowledge of current experts in panel paintings conservation and prepares a next generation of conservators for the future. To achieve these goals, the Getty Foundation partners with leading art institutions in the western hemisphere supporting side-by-side training residencies.

“The unveiling of The Last Supper is the culmination of years of collaboration across continents and across fields to save one of the most significant and challenging examples of a flood-damaged painting,” says Deborah Marrow, director of the Getty Foundation. “Not only is the painting at home in Santa Croce once again, but a new generation of panel paintings conservators have been trained through these efforts so that other paintings can receive the same excellent care and treatment.”