Mosaic Conservation/Restoration course is being conducted by two different teachers, Livia Alberti and Francesca Mariani, who have worked out and share the training objectives, the teaching methods and the student assessment methods. The exercises in the individual modules, on the other hand, are prepared and conducted individually by one or the other teacher.
The course aims to prepare the student to approach mosaic restoration with:
- ability to diagnose conservation issues,
- ability to choose among possible technical solutions of intervention both from a conservation and aesthetic presentation point of view
- familiarity with documentation techniques,
- aptitude in exploring in depth the issues proposed by the intervention.
In order to achieve this objective, lessons will be held for the general knowledge of the mosaic sector both from the historical-artistic point of view as from the technical point of view of the execution of this type of artifacts. The different intervention techniques will be first explained in the classroom, in order to introduce the specific methods and the theoretical motivations that support the different phases of restoration, and thus prepare the student for the complexity of the intervention. The frontal lessons will be supported by images and summary diagrams organized in Power Point projections, while verifying the degree of understanding of each student through exchanges of questions and answers from both sides and deepening the various topics with classroom discussion.
The practical exercise, the core activity of the course, will be organized so as to address the various issues of restoration, such as cleaning, consolidation, reintegration and aesthetic presentation, especially on mosaics that are still preserved in situ. Knowledge on the execution technique may also be deepened through the individual creation, ex novo, of a small mosaic with the traditional ancient technique. Practicing in the different intervention operations will also be aimed at improving the student's manual dexterity, from which we expect, at the end of the course, a conscious, precise and neat manual work, of a high-quality level.
The theoretical knowledge acquired during lessons, and the experience gained through practice, should lead students to be capable of making methodological and technical choices independently.
The purpose of the exercise will also be to cultivate students' planning and organizational skills as they will be experiencing the management of the worksite in its different aspects.
Their ability to learn and process the acquired notions, as well as their self-confidence and language skills, will be tested during the different modules when the student will be asked to explain and motivate the work. In addition, the assessment will be carried out by means of written tests including at least the complete technical report of a restoration work carried out during the year and an oral test during which the student will illustrate by means of Power Point one of the projects carried out or a particular subject that came up during the year.

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 practical exercise to be carried out on the cosmatesque mosaics of the Co-Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Sutri (VT).
In the laboratory, with the visual support of Power Point projection, the main topics related to ancient mosaic and its restoration will be addressed such as: execution technique, construction materials, ancient mosaic typologies and the construction methods of the tessellatum decorative motifs. The main causes of deterioration, and the maintenance and restoration work carried out in the past, will also be the subject of specific lectures.
This body of knowledge, which will be verified in class discussion during lectures and will be repeatedly taken up throughout the academic year with regard to the different cases addressed, will lead students to engage consciously and circumstantially during the practical exercises.
The organization of the worksite, and thus also the compilation of the list of equipment and materials needed to carry out the work, will be carried out together with the students, who will thus begin to practice the design and scheduling aspect of the work.
The workshop will be held for this first module of 2025 on a section with six decorative panels of the Cosmatesque mosaic floor in the central nave of the Co-Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Sutri (VT).The mosaic, in addition to having probably undergone transport in rather remote times, presents evidence of many integration and maintenance interventions that make it a particularly interesting object for the study of the conservation history of a work of art, as well as an excellent case for studying condition and deterioration causes.
The exercise will begin with the study of marbles, stones and terracotta used to construct the tessellatum and then the recognition and cataloging of the different lithotypes present. Direct observation will also lead to the identification and documentation of the state of conservation of the mosaic, both structurally and in terms of surface condition. We will then proceed with the stabilization of the tessellatum at its most fragile areas, taking into account the particularly busy environment where the work is preserved. During on-site activities, the reasons for the adopted intervention methodology and the possible solutions for protecting this mosaic will be discussed.
Finally, during the module, a visit to one or more churches with cosmatesque mosaics in the area of Upper Latium and Umbria will be scheduled for comparisons and further study of the technique and history of cosmatesque mosaics.

Second module, 150 hours
The second module will be held by Dr. Francesca Mariani on the subject of restoration of ancient mosaic preserved in situ at the archaeological site (see Dr. Mariani teaching records)

Third module, 150 hours.
The Third Module workshop will probably focus on archaeological mosaics in situ, providing participants with the opportunity to practice and become familiar with conservation issues specific to mosaics in archaeological sites, such as vegetation control, protection through backfilling or covering, etc.
The exercise will include operations such as cleaning, consolidation of the support and bedding mortars, re-bedding of loose tesserae, and lacuna in-filling.
The module will also include some frontal lessons on in situ mosaics with regard to execution techniques, degradation, and intervention methodology.

Nessun testo sul restauro del mosaico è adottato come testo del corso. Per i vari argomenti che trattano i diversi aspetti della conservazione di questo manufatto, sia antico che moderno, pavimentale o parietale, si fa riferimento alla bibliografia che segue.

- Voce "Mosaico", Enciclopedia dell'Arte Antica Treccani (D. Levi, 1963)
- Voce "Mosaico", Enciclopedia Arte Medievale Treccani (B. Finster, 1997)
- Marco Vitruvio Pollione, pubblicato da Carlo Amati (1829), vol. 1, Dell’architettura, Libro II, Italian ed. Books. I-XII. www.archive.org.
- Plinio il Vecchio, Historia Naturalis, trad. Eichholz D.E. (1949-54), Harvard University Press
http://www.masseiana.org/pliny.htm
- AA.VV. DIMOS – Corso sulla manutenzione di dipinti murali, mosaici e stucchi; ICR, Roma 1978
- Manuela Farneti, Glossario tecnico storico del mosaico; Longo Ed. Ravenna 1993
- C. Maltese, Le tecniche artistiche, Azzate (VA),1973
- Pappalardo U., Ciardiello R., Pedicini L. (foto), Mosaici greci e romani, Tappeti di pietra in età ellenistica e romana; Arsenale Editrice 2010
- VLAD BORRELLI L., Musivaria. Mosaico e opus sectile in età antica: storia, tecniche, conservazione, Roma, 2016.
- AA.VV., Mosaici medievali a Roma attraverso il restauro dell’ICR, 1991-2004, a cura di M. Andaloro e C. D’Angelo, Gangemi Editore, Roma, 2017.
- AA.VV. Mosaici a S. Vitale e altri restauri, Il restauro in situ di mosaici parietali, Atti del convegno Nazionale sul restauro in situ di mosaici parietali, Ravenna 1-3 ottobre 1990; Longo Ed. Ravenna 1992
- AA.VV. Atti delle Conferenze del Comitato Internazionale per la Conservazione dei Mosaici (ICCM), 15 volumi da 1977 a 2022
https://www.getty.edu/conservation/publications_resources/teaching/mosaics_conservation.html
- AA.VV., Mosaics in Situ: An Overview of Literature on Conservation of Mosaics In Situ. A cura di Thomas Roby e Martha Demas, Edizione The Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles, 2013
- Torraca, G., Lezioni di scienza e tecnologia dei materiali per il restauro dei monumenti, Scuola di Specializzazione per il Restauro dei Monumenti, Università La Sapienza, Roma, 2002.
- Verità M., Technology and deterioration of vitreous mosaic tesserae, Reviews in Conservation, 1 (2000), pp.65-76.
- Pajares-Ayuela P., Cosmatesque Ornament, Flat polychrome geometric patterns in architecture, translation by Maria Fleming Alvarez, 2002, Thames & Hudson, Londra. ISBN 05000-51075-X
- Severino N., I Cosmati in Umbria, Le opere cosmatesche in Umbria al tempo delle recuperationes di Innocenzo III, 1198-1216, ilmiolibro.it, Cassino, 2015.
https://www.academia.edu/39870606/I_COSMATI_IN_UMBRIA_Le_opere_cosmatesche_in_Umbria_al_tempo_delle_recuperationes_di_Innocenzo_III_1198_1216
- Jackson M., Deocampo D., Marra F., Scheetz B. (2010), Mid-Pleistocene Pozzolanic Volcanic Ash in Ancient
Roman Concretes, in “Geoarchaeology. An International Journal”, Vol. 25, Issue 1
- Alberti L., Bourguignon E., Carbonara E., Roby T., Escobar J.S., (2013). Illustrated Glossary: Technician Training for the Maintenance of In Situ Mosaics. Los Angeles; Tunis: Getty Conservation Institute; Institut National du Patrimoine de Tunisie.
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/gci_pubs/glossaire_english
- Malathy R., (2023), Lime based concrete and mortar enhanced with pozzolanic materials –State of art, in Construction and Building Materials, Vol. 390
- Giuliani, Cairoli F. (1990), Edilizia nell’antichità, Roma
- Mariani F., Savoia A.S., Caliano G. (2020), An innovative method for in situ monitoring of the detachments in architectural coverings of ancient structures, J. Cult. Herit., n. 42, pp. 139–146
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.culher.2019.07.013
- NORMAL 23/86. Terminologia tecnica: Definizione e descrizione delle malte. Descrive le malte utilizzate per la decorazione; offre definizioni di malte basate su caratteristiche, funzioni e proprietà. Lo scopo delle norme è quello di unificare la terminologia tecnica in uso. Sono discusse anche le tecniche di esecuzione e di applicazione.