Information about the object:
The Latin Cathedral, whose construction probably began in the 1460s, was originally a parish church. Its construction took more than 100 years. In 1405, after the chancel was vaulted, it was consecrated as a parish church. The character of the cathedral changed with the modernisation works carried out. Particularly important were those carried out in the 1860s, giving the interior a Baroque character with Rococo elements. It was then that, among other things, the painting decoration of the walls and vaulting of the nave by Stanisław Stroiński was created. Further significant changes took place at the end of the 19th century. Not only was the presbytery renovated according to a design by Julian Zacharewicz, but stained-glass windows and polychrome paintings were also made by students of Jan Matejko. Both World War I and the Polish-Ukrainian fighting and war with Russia halted the work, and wartime requisitions deprived it, among other things, of its copper roof. Work resumed in 1923, but again the war and, above all, the period of Soviet rule in Lviv meant that, despite all efforts, the cathedral's condition steadily deteriorated. It was only after 1991 and the ingress of Archbishop Marian Jaworski that long-term restoration works began, largely financed by the Senate of the Republic of Poland and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, and since 2018 also by the Polonica Institute, commissioned to carry out the organ restoration.

Completed works:
The project consisted of conservation work at the Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Lviv, Ukraine) on the epitaph of Canon Piotr Milewski młd. (d. 1634). Before conservation work began, the epitaph was in a very poor state of preservation (some elements of the composition were in an emergency state, including the hands of one of the figures).

The conservation measures applied eliminated the causes of damage to the historic substance, stopped the unfavourable changes and protected it from further deterioration. Conservation took into account both the artistic and aesthetic features of the object. In order to achieve these objectives, the surface of the tombstone was cleaned of dirt, surface layers and repainting, and unaesthetic and weathered secondary additions and weathered mortar in the joints were replaced. It was also necessary to carry out new restorations for cavities of various origins and to protect the cracks with a synthetic resin-based mortar. Reconstruction of large cavities was carried out in suitably selected rock material. Every effort was also made to restore the polished surface to the extent that the object originally had it.

Funding: Programme of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage "Protection of Cultural Heritage Abroad"

More about the project: https://polonika.pl

• Towarzystwo Tradycji Akademickiej, realizacja w roku 2023.