16 June. The International Course on Stone Conservation was relaunched on 16 April, after a long period of review and evaluation, and is currently taking place in Venice, Italy. This 16th edition of the course has been redesigned to reflect the most recent advances in research and practice; it now includes an additional focus on architectural and structural conservation issues related to stone construction.

The course has been made possible thanks to the contribution of the following collaborating institutions:

• UNESCO-BRESCE
• Università IUAV di Venezia
• Soprintendenza per i Beni Architettonici e Paesaggistici di Venezia e Laguna, Italian Ministry for Culture
• Soprintendenza Speciale per Patrimonio storico, artistico, etnoantropologico e per il Polo Museale della città di Venezia e dei comuni della gronda lagunare, Italian Ministry for Culture
• Getty Conservation Institute
• ICCROM (International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property)

Valuable support for scholarships was also obtained from two of the organizations that are part of the UNESCO-Private Committees Programme for the Safeguarding of Venice, the Venice in Peril Fund and Venetian Heritage Inc.

The 12 week course will cover topics such as:

• conservation theory and principles;
• stone mineralogical and physical characteristics;
• stone as a building material—use and construction;
• mechanisms of decay—material and structural;
• methods of recording for documentation and analysis;
• methods of analytical investigation;
• planning and selection of conservation interventions;
• maintenance and preventive conservation;
• multi-disciplinary teamwork in conservation;
• developing and managing a stone conservation project;
• regional issues in stone conservation.

Nineteen participants from nineteen countries around the world are participating in the course.

updated on: 13 April, 2010