Course in the conservation of architectural heritage
The restoration of the cloister in the monastery of Ss. Quattro Coronati

edited by Daniela Esposito

The course in the Conservation of Architectural Heritage concerning the restoration of the cloister in the monastery of Santi Quattro Coronati in Rome is currently under way. It is open to Italian or foreign undergraduates and graduates in subjects relating to the restoration of monuments, the consolidation of historic buildings, art history and archaeology for a total number of twenty-four participants.

The course offers both theoretical and practical training on the conservation of monuments, providing a historico-critical background that is essential to both the study of the history and construction of the architecture and to the interpretation of phenomena of deterioration and decay. In particular, the course will treat the subject of presenting technical and economic data alongside the planning of the restoration/conservation project for the cloister in the Basilica of Santi Quattro Coronati in Rome.

The project is financed by the J.Paul Getty Grant Program in Los Angeles and by Sparaco Spartaco S.p.a. in Rome and supervised by the architect Giovanni Carbonara. The course will consist of a series of lectures at the School of Restoration of Monuments at "La Sapienza" University of Rome and on-site surveys and will have a three-month duration (January-March 2000), to be concluded by a final oral exam; a certificate of attendance will be provided. The course activities The course has been subdivided into three sessions which comprise units and modules relating to specific subjects with lectures, surveys, guided visits, practical experimentation, simulation of activities connected with restoration work, discussions, workshops, group seminars and study periods carried out by professionals and department officials directly involved in the project and by numerous Italian and foreign experts.

The three sessions concern:

- questions of theory and method (the theoretical principles of restoration and the most recent methodologies; references to the history of restoration to provide a comprehensive background to the subject; the criteria of minimum intervention, chemical-physical compatibility, recognizability and reversibility; specific restoration issues: reintegration of lacunae and patinas) with the collaboration of experts Giovanni Carbonara, Calogero Bellanca, Laura Mora, Giancarlo Palmerio and Giorgio Torraca;

- the educational worksite (on-site investigations into the subject of study as part of the preparation of the restoration/conservation project: survey, historico-critical analysis, analysis of deterioration, programming of diagnostic investigations and tests to be carried out; practical activities relating to the specific requirements of the subject under examination) with the collaboration of Professori Maria Andaloro, Giulia Barone, Corrado Bozzoni, Spiridione Alessandro Curuni, Enzo Esposito, Federico Guidobaldi and Francesco Piccarreta; Dottori Paola Di Manzano, Francesco Fraioli, Federica Gargano, Paolo Liverani, Leo Lombardi, Francesca Matera, Raffaele Pugliese and Manuel Vaquero Piñeiro and architects Lia Barelli, Daniela Esposito, Mara Falconi, Elisabetta Giorgi, Rossana Mancini, Monica Morbidelli, Laura Morgante and Fanou Stiliani;

- planning and carrying out the project (examples of completed treatments, project outlines including details of construction, technical and economic reports, reference to current legislation) with the collaboration of Professori Ippolito Massari and Francesco Graziani, Dottoressa Andreina Draghi and architects Carolina De Camillis, Giuseppina Filippi and Marina Magnani.