Laboratory at the Central State Archives of Rome [Teaching and Didactics]

PRESERVATIVE CONSERVATION WORKS WITH THE ROME TORVERGATA STUDENTS

Stefania Zeppieri | Conservazione e Restauro Beni Librari, Archivistici, Opere d'Arte su carta e manufatti Affini - Restauro volumi rari | Archivio Centrale dello Stato di Roma (Cantiere Esterno)

Notes about the photo gallery

I invite you to explore a gallery of images related to one of the external laboratories that took place during the second year of Course in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage – CORLIB at the University of Rome Torvergata.

We had the unique opportunity to work with the students at the Central State Archives of Rome, thanks to the generous collaboration of the Archives managers, and also to visit the warehouses of the Central State Archives, the splendid collections they treasure, and many beautifully preserved artefacts dated from the Unification of Italy onwards.

The Central State Archives of Rome hold about fifty archives of public and private entities of national importance, as well as about 250 personal archives of political exponents, whose documentation plays an irreplaceable function in historical research. In recent years, a very rich photographic heritage has been acquired by Institute, which conserves a substantial core of non-paper archive materials.

For a conservator, this is very interesting material, not only from a historical standpoint, but also from the point of view of the study of types of media and graphic media. Most of it is a delicate and very perishable material, which requires a lot of preventive conservation.

Our laboratory was expressly focused on preventive conservation: dedusting and securing documents as well as mock-up models from the construction period of the Rome EUR business district.

The students were able to analyze and intervene with delicate maintenance techniques on very important materials such as “the Archives of Grace“, a set of documents that includes all the requests for grace written by those sentenced to death. A truly exciting and emotional experience not only for the students, but also for the teachers.

We sincerely thank all those who made this important visit and external laboratory available to the students of the Rome Torvergata University.