RICERCA ITALIANA     

The Culture of Restoration in Italy from the end of 18th Century to the present day: a computerized archive

Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza"

Abstract

The main aim of this project is to create a computerized archive for documents about Italian restorers and restoration from the end of 18th Century to our days.
The research programme is a part of the undertakings of the wider national project “National
Historical Archive and Data-base for the Italian Restorers”, promoted by Central Institute for Restoration, University Course in “Historical and Artistic Sciences” of the “La Sapienza” UIniversity in Rome (Teachers Vittoria Rossi called Orietta Rossi Pinelli Ph.D. and Marisa Dalai Emiliani Ph.D.) and “Giovanni Secco Suardo” Association (see “National or International Scientific Background”, cap.2.2)
The project has the following purposes: avoiding the scattering of the archives about the Italian Restorers, acquiring and keeping updated all the documents related to the history of restoration, promoting and allowing access and consultation of the data-bank, promoting studies and researches on the subject with a publication of a dictionary of the Italian Restorers.
Our request for cofounding aim to create a computerized archive for documents about restauration and Italian restorers to be given as an useful instruments to historians of the culture of restoration and to Soprintendenze and restorers who will need it at the beginning of their work to know about previous restorations.
To improve the data-bank, this project involves art >>>

Principal Investigator

Vittoria ROSSI Universita' degli Studi di ROMA

Research Objectives

The main aim of this project is to create a computerized archive for documents about Italian restorers and restoration from the end of 18th Century to our days.
The research programme is a part of the undertakings of the wider national project “National
Historical Archive and Data-base for the Italian Restorers”, promoted by Central Institute for Restoration, University Course in “Historical and Artistic Sciences” of the “La Sapienza” UIniversity in Rome (Teachers Vittoria Rossi called Orietta Rossi Pinelli Ph.D. and Marisa Dalai Emiliani Ph.D.) and “Giovanni Secco Suardo” Association (see “National or International Scientific Background”, cap.2.2)
The project has the following purposes:
1. avoiding the scattering of the archives about the Italian Restorers
2. acquiring and keeping updated all the documents related to the history of restoration.
3. promoting and allowing access and consultation of the data-bank
4. promoting studies and researches on the subject with a publication of a dictionary of the Italian Restorers
Our request for cofounding aim to create a computerized archive for documents about restauration and Italian restorers to be given as an useful instruments to historians of the culture of restoration and to Soprintendenze and restorers who will need it at the beginning of their work to know about previous restorations.
To improve the >>>

First Results

Since the computerized system has already been experienced by the “Giovanni Secco Suardo” Association with quite satisfying results, in the first year the research units will be able to concentrate fundamentally on collecting bibliographic sources and on researching archives.
The first step will be concluded with a bibliographical and archival census in order to trace names and identities of the restorers who have operated between the end of 18th Century and our days, concerning to the different geographic territory of each units.
This census will be available from the data-bank and, thanks to the sharing data system, the first results will also turn out from the comparison of the materials collected by the various units.
With the aim to design a history of the Italian restoration culture it seems absolutely important that each unit follows a specific way, adapted to its territory, but at the same time each could share data with notes about the same historical period in different geographic territory.At the end of the project we will realize a computerized archive about the history of restoration and restorers among the end of 18th Century to our days; this computerized archive will be available in some local emplacements, in order to allow its use by historians of the culture of restoration and by operators (Soprintendenze and restorers) as a source of documentation on the history of the works for new restorations.
At the end of the >>>

Timescale

24 months

National and international background

The research programme is a part of the undertakings of the wider national project “National Historical Archive and Data-base for the Italian Restorers”, promoted by the Istituto Centrale per il Restauro, the Associazione Giovanni Secco Suardo, the Soprintendenza per i Beni Artistici e Storici di Milano, and the Scuola di Specializzazione di Storia dell'Arte Medievale e Moderna of the Università "la Sapienza" in Rome.
The idea and scientific laying of the national project come from the results of the International Meeting " Giovanni Secco Suardo. La cultura del restauro tra tutela e conservazione dell'opera d'arte" in Bergamo at march 1995. During the final vote at this Meeting the suggestion was expressed by Marisa Dalai Emiliani that the Associazione Giovanni Secco Suardo would promote every initiative to enhance the value of the historical Archives on Conservation and Restoration, and start a project towards a historical Dictionary of the Italian restorers.
In 1996 a convention was then subscribed between the Istituto Centrale per il Restauro and the Associazione Giovanni Secco Suardo to constitute a National Historical Archive and Data bank of Italian Restorers and research will continue under the supervision an Academic Committee.
Member of Academic Committee now are: Giuseppe Basile (Istituto Centrale per il Restauro), Gianluigi Colalucci (già Restauratore Capo dei Musei Vaticani), Marisa Dalai Emiliani (Direttore della Scuola di >>>