by Maria Giovanna Fadiga

May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May he show you his face and have mercy on you. May he turn his gaze upon you and give you peace.
May the Lord give you his great blessing.

These are powerful yet familiar words, at once comforting and reassuring, born in an era when the daily struggle was truly arduous, the words of a figure whose stature has remained intact over the centuries. Written by the hand of Saint Francis on a fragment of parchment and preserved in a leather pouch close to his heart by Brother Leo, his companion and first follower, they have become an object of veneration: a true relic. When a devastating earthquake in 1997 destroyed part of the Basilica of Assisi, the chartula of Saint Francis preserved there was also affected. Thus, this precious document was entrusted to the care and restoration of an important institution, the Central Institute of Book Pathology in Rome (ICPAL). It was on that occasion that I had the opportunity to come into contact with that sacred relic.

Rather than describing chartula—which I wouldn't add anything new—I'd like to recall the journey that led me to discover it and to combine my knowledge of the materials, acquired in a very distant geographical and cultural context. At that time, in fact, I had just returned from a long stay in Korea, where I had the opportunity to appreciate a high-quality artisanal product, characteristic of that country's paper production: hanji paper. It is a paper made from mulberry fiber, of excellent quality, exceptionally strong and durable, so much so that Koreans call it "the paper of a thousand years." Throughout history, hanji has been used in a wide variety of contexts, both everyday and refined: in addition to writing, it has also been used in the production of fabrics, artifacts, furniture, and much more. Its characteristics immediately struck me, as they made it ideal for restoration.
From hanji paper to the chartula of the Saint of Assisi, it was a short step. It should be remembered that oriental papers are truly unique products: paper originated in the Far East, in China, and traveled along the Silk Road from East to West until reaching our world in the early Middle Ages. In a certain sense, therefore, I was returning to my roots, working for its recognition in the scientific field of book restoration. The official certification of the validity of hanji paper for conservation was the natural development of this complex and committed cultural mediation, thanks to my diplomatic role in Seoul. The restoration world was already familiar with a similar product of the highest quality, Japanese paper, but Korean paper did not overlap with it; on the contrary, it complemented it, proving suitable for more "robust" operations. This was precisely the case with the restoration of the parchment of the cartula, which had several wear gaps along the edges that needed to be corrected, and which was masterfully restored by the ICPAL. Once the relic was restored to as close to its original state as possible, it was displayed in the same Institute, which became a pilgrimage destination for the faithful, clergy, scholars, journalists, and many others. The memory of this journey, both cultural and religious, is collected in a publication: the volume The Chartula of Saint Francis – History and Restoration, which comprehensively contains the testimonies and stories of all those who participated. And most importantly, the volume includes a facsimile of the chartula, revived in this unique and unrepeatable edition, allowing us to make Francis's words our own, as Brother Leo did.

The facsimile was originally inserted into the back of this valuable volume and preserved in a hanji paper envelope, further testifying to the unity of the two materials and the indissoluble embrace between past and present, between East and West, in a truly extraordinary collaborative effort.
Perhaps Saint Francis himself—an ironic and witty man, as the Fioretti describe him—who with gentle irony added his own portrait with a hood and long beard to the same parchment, would have been the first to appreciate this unusual crossroads of cultures.

Maria Giovanna Fadiga