9 April. During the final weeks of the course, participants learned about conservation treatments and interventions (Unit 3C). They discussed the importance and options available for first aid/emergency treatment (various invasive or non invasive) and examined a variety of options available to achieve conservation (buildings, sites, urban and rural centers and landscapes) goals based on current philosophical, ethical, and cultural contexts.

In mid-March, participants and course team spent a weekend in Florence learning about the conservation of wooden structures and monumental architecture from Prof. Gennaro Tampone and his team from the Collegio degli ingengneri della Toscana. There were visits to the cupola of Santa Maria del Fiore, the wooden rafters of San Marco and Palazzo Vecchio, and to the house of Michelangelo to see the model of a façade he proposed for the church of S. Lorenzo in c.1518.

The final week of the course was spent in Herculaneum with our partners from the Associazione Herculaneum. Here, participants applied what they had learned to a real-life situation. They were divided into four groups and given the task of analyzing the management of the archaeological site, interpretation and visitor needs, as well as carrying out condition assessments and proposing overall conservation strategy for two site ruins. Lastly, they were asked to make suggestions and proposals for better integration between the ancient city and its modern counterpart (Ercolano). This was presented to the public and the municipality of Ercolano on the final day of their stay (29 March).

The closing ceremony of the course was held on 30 March 2007 in Rome at the Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo e la Documentazione (ICCD). Certificates were presented to participants by the Director-General Mounir Bouchenaki, Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, Director of the Centro internazionale per gli studi di Herculaneum, Joseph King, Sites Unit Director, ICCROM, and Gamini Wijesuriya, Course Coordinator, ICCROM. Also present at the ceremony were Gabriele Borghini and Caterina Linares of the ICCD, as well as cultural attachés representing Member States of the participants.

Member States represented: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Slovakia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tanzania, Thailand, United Kingdom, USA

updated on: 24 November, 2007