Location: Altamura - Gravina in Puglia, BA, IT
Season: July 2, 2025 to August 6, 2025
Session Dates: 2025 Course 1: July 2 – 16, 2025 Course2: July 23 – August 6, 2025
Application Deadline: June 30, 2025
Deadline Type: Rolling
Website: http://www.messors.com
Program Type:
Field School
RPA Certified:
No
Project Director:
Tonio Creanza
Project Description:
The Messors organization is offering a cultural heritage conservation course regarding Frescoes and Fine Art located in the rich cultural and historical setting of Southern Italy. The Frescoes are part of the rupestrian settlements (underground habitations) located in the Alta Murgia area in the Puglia region of Italy. Paintings on Canvas are part of private collections. A fresco-making session will concentrate on the principles and chemistry of the technique and learning how to create decorative patterns and paintings using natural materials such as lime-based mortars and pigments. The workshop provides a practical focus, allowing students ample opportunity for participation in conservation procedures and restoration techniques. Seminars in Art History, Geomorphological Studies and Religious Iconography and Rituals complement the courses. The course also includes several site visits, including visits to Sassi of Matera (Unesco World Heritage site), a visit to the rupestrian churches and museums; two-day trip visit to Pompeii and Naples.
Tonio Creanza, director of Messors, leads the courses; guest lectures and hands-on works sessions will be given by conservator Filip Petcu (Faculty of Arts, Conservation and Restoration Department, University of Timisoara – Romania) and conservator Joana Diniz.
https://redmammothmedia.com/shepherdsinthecave/
Period(s) of Occupation: 6th-century BCE - 19th-century CE
Notes:
The programs are a "hands-on" opportunity to learn about art restoration and history.
Project Size: 1-24 participants
Minimum Length of Stay for Volunteers: full session
Minimum Age: 18
Experience Required: Enthusiasm for learning and sharing a sustainable approach to art, culture, and life. No prerequisites required. This is a hands-on and in-situ workshop to complement studies in the fields of conservation, arts, history & anthropology, archaeology etc. It is open to students, as well as to those keen on understanding the processes of restoration & preservation of art and cultural heritage. We remind applicants that works-of-art and historical sites that are worked on are part of the National Italian Cultural Patrimony and are to be treated with care and attention. Any practical intervention and actions while learning are under supervision and guidance. The nature of the activities in this workshop involves handling tools like scalpels, chisels, fine motor skills and operating in a low lighting environment in the cave sites.
Room and Board Arrangements:
Workshop includes your stay in historical palazzo, most meals, transportation from an to Bari airport (BRI) and field trips and two-day excursion to Pompeii and Naples.
The AIA is North America's largest and oldest nonprofit organization dedicated to archaeology. The Institute advances awareness, education, fieldwork, preservation, publication, and research of archaeological sites and cultural heritage throughout the world. Your contribution makes a difference.
