In the framework of the activities of the Conservation Research Group, a multidisciplinary meeting was held at ICCROM in May 2005 as the preparatory meeting for the 2007 workshop.

Participants included both conservation professionals and stakeholders. It focused on some of the most pressing questions and concerns regarding the cleaning of cultural heritage. The meeting emphasized the essential need for an interdisciplinary approach throughout the entire process of cleaning, given the critical judgment it implies, from its conceptual analysis and the perception of the heritage object to the treatment itself and the final presentation.

The main themes discussed were:

• relationship between material and aspect;
• case studies of conservation-restoration projects;
• perception, presentation and exhibition.

The idea was to maintain a thread linking the three themes throughout the discussion and to favour an interdisciplinary exchange of ideas.

updated on: 1 March, 2007