Restorer Sandra Pucci with Levasti's painting
Spit and polish?
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A unique restoration method will 'shock' those not in the know. Have you ever heard the English expression, "Spit and polish 'til it shines"? In a recent interview with Florence-based restorer Sandra Pucci, AWA learned that – in bygone times – artisans took the phrase literally. Fillide Levasti's newly restored painting was still in the restoration studio in the Santo Spirito neighborhood when Sandra revealed the 'technique' used on the twentieth-painter's Pitti painting: "On Houses in Demolition we did a surface cleaning, using artificial saliva which is essentially a chemical reproduction of the enzymes in our salvia, which was used on occasion in the past," Pucci explained. "It allows us to remove surface dirt without damaging the varnish."