Rome 'open restoration' workshop opens

(ANSA) - Rome, October 25 - The church of Santa Marta al Collegio Romano on Wednesday opened its doors to visitors as a showcase for art restoration run by Italy's Higher Institute for Conservation and Restoration (ISCR). Upon prior booking on the ISCR website visitors can now watch art restorers come to grips with a fresco by Domenichino of Narcissus admiring his reflection, originally from Palazzo Farnese, late 16th-century frescos of the Madonna that once decorated the choir stalls in the church then owned by Augustinian nuns, and 7,000 fresco and stucco fragments from an ancient Roman villa in the Tor Vergata area of Rome. "Open restoration" is the brainchild of Culture Minister Dario Franceschini and intends to be a "place symbolising great Italian excellence" in the field. "Italy excels in the restoration sector, but there is not a full awareness of what this means for the country," Franceschini said. The new workshop aims to "send the message that restoration is a delicate task requiring great professionalism" and also "to find new recruits, because in Italy there is much that needs protecting and only very few people to do it", added ISCR director Gisella Capponi.
    The project has been launched with an initial investment of 60,000 euros and will be trialled for the first two months.
    The theme for 2017-2018 is wall painting.
    This will be followed by a period of restoration dedicated to works on canvas and then possibly to terracotta, Capponi said. Franceschini highlighted the investment made by his government in the conservation and restoration sector. "From the 40 million euros in 2013 we have reached 3 billion today," he said.
    "Of course it will always be necessary to do more, because the art heritage is infinite; the private sector will need to support the public sector, but it is possible to do a lot with 3 billion euros," Franceschini concluded.