The Restoration of Pazzi Chapel Loggia at Church of Santa Croce campaign on Kickstarter is in its final days, and a special testimonial joined the project, giving his endorsement: the actor, director and art historian Peter Weller. In a video, he explains the importance of the loggia of the Pazzi Chapel and its decorations.

Dr. Peter Frederick Weller (born June 24, 1947) has appeared in more than 70 films and television series, including blockbuster hits "RoboCop" and "RoboCop2" as well as cult classic "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension". He has also acted in such critically acclaimed films as Woody Allen’s "Mighty Aphrodite", the Oliver Stone-produced "The New Age" and David Cronenberg’s movie "Naked Lunch". He received an Academy Award nomination for his direction of the 1993 short "Partners", in which he also acted. For television, he played Christopher Henderson in the fifth season of "24" and Stan Liddy in the fifth season of the Showtime original series "Dexter".

Dr. Weller has a long-term love of Florence that he rendered official through his completion of a master’s degree in Renaissance Art History at Syracuse University in Florence followed by a Ph.D. in Art History at UCLA in 2014 with a dissertation on Alberti and Florence. Connected to this love, he has hosted the show Engineering an Empire on the History Channel, and has taught courses in Roman and Renaissance art.

Having heard about the crowdfunding campaign to restore the loggia of the Pazzi Chapel at Santa Croce and possessing an in-depth knowledge of the historic importance of this structure, Dr. Weller offers his support by appearing in a video to explain to fellow Florence and Italy lovers why this structure needs saving. He concludes: “This building is important, indigenous, organic and seminal to the entire development of Western architecture, and this loggia needs your money, time and grace to be restored so that future generations can come here and adore it, like I have for so many years.”

With just 4 days remaining to reach the goal of $95,000, over 600 backers have pledged so far. The first ever use of Kickstarter by a major cultural institution in Florence, Italy has been making the headlines in Italy and farther afield. The campaign’s first backer came from New York City.

Opera di Santa Croce has previously raised 50% of the funds required to carry out this restoration, slated to begin in early 2015. The institution is calling for public support in order to raise the remainder. In so doing, donors will become part of the 720-year-long history of Santa Croce, as their names will be inscribed in the historical archive of this great “temple of memory”. Campaign backers will receive a variety of rewards depending on the level of the donation, such as modern lithographs and commemorative medals; private restoration tours; family tickets to Santa Croce; and subscriptions to The Florentine, Florence’s English-language news magazine.

To know more about the project and donate, visit Restoration of Pazzi Chapel Loggia at Church of Santa Croce on Kickstarter.

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