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Teacher
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ALBERTI Livia
(syllabus)
First module, 150 hours
The first module will begin with a short introduction period to be held in the laboratory of the University of Tuscia and will be followed by the practical exercise that will be carried out on the mosaics of the archaeological site of the Mausoleum of Campo Barbarico in the Appia Antica Archaeological Park in Rome.
In the laboratory a series of theoretical lectures will be held, with the visual support of Power Point projections, which will cover the main topics related to ancient mosaics and their restoration such as: execution technique, constituent materials, ancient mosaic typologies and decorative motifs, as well as the main causes of deterioration and both ancient and modern maintenance and restoration interventions that can be detected by observing the mosaics.
This body of knowledge, which will be verified in class discussion during lectures and will be taken up several times during the academic year in relation to the different cases that will be addressed, will lead students to engage consciously and circumstantially in the practical exercises that will take place at the different sites.
A small mosaic will also be made individually in the laboratory, following the ancient execution technique as far as possible.
The organization of the worksite and thus the definition of the equipment and materials necessary for its execution will be carried out together with the students, who will thus begin to practice aspects such as designing and planning an intervention.
This year the second part of the module will be carried out on some black and white tile mosaic fragments recently excavated in the Campo Barbarico Mausoleum. The exercise will begin with a study of the execution technique of the mosaics and the masonry support structure, as well as the construction technique of the mausoleum itself. Direct observation will also lead to the survey and documentation of the state of conservation of the mosaic both structurally and superficially, and we will then proceed with the stabilization of the tessellation for mere conservation purposes in the tradition of archaeological restoration. During the on-site activities, the reasons for the adopted intervention methodology and more generally the techniques and aims of the intervention on in situ mosaics will be discussed.
Finally, during the module a visit to the archaeological site of Villa San Giovanni in Tuscia will be scheduled to inspect the mosaics of a Roman Domus already restored in previous years by the students of the University of Tuscia in order to start a maintenance program.
Second module, 150 hours
The second module will be carried out on a black and white tessera mosaic at the Villa dei Quintili in the Appia Antica Archaeological Park; a mosaic that has been exposed for many years and restored several times.
The restoration will involve operations such as removing the biological patina and cleaning the surface, fixing the movable tesserae and the detachments between the preparatory mortar layers, removing fillings made in previous interventions, and newly filling the lacunae and the interstices between the tesserae. Observations and interventions will be documented graphically and photographically.
The restoration of this mosaic will provide an opportunity to observe past interventions, assess their condition and efficiency, and discuss whether or not they should be removed or maintained.
The particular condition of the mosaic intended for the training exercise, which is affected by a severe depression produced by the subsidence of the support structure, may be an opportunity to study possible solutions for structural stabilization and rainwater drainage.
Third module, 150 hours
The third module will be carried out on the archaeological site of Carsulae and will address the operations required to stabilize the mosaics that will be assigned to the course this year. In this case, they will be recently excavated mosaics, treated only with emergency operations; the intervention will also be an opportunity to work alongside archaeologists and explore the problems related to the conservation of mosaics at archaeological sites.
The exercise will include operations such as removing vegetation, re-bedding movable tesserae with mortar, stabilizing raised portions of mosaic in severely deteriorated condition with the help of protective facing and temporary detachment of tessellatum portions, protecting/ and containing mosaic edges.
The module will also include frontal lessons on mosaic deterioration at archaeological sites and protection and prevention methods used at the site, such as re-burying and sheltering.
(reference books)
No text on mosaic restoration is adopted as course text. For the different topics dealing with the various conservation aspects related to this artifact, whether ancient or modern, pavement or parietal, we refer to the following bibliography.
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