8 April. The CBH10 course, which began on 5 March 2010 at ICCROM, has been five weeks of an intensive combination of lectures, exercises and site visits.

Practical exercises have been carried out on various historical monuments in Italy. A series of activities on defining significance and assessing the effects of human impact were undertaken at the Pantheon, in Rome. Participants produced evaluations and assessments, which although brief, allowed a discussion to take place on the importance of considering different values and stakeholders.

The documentation unit focused on the Church of San Benedetto in Piscinula, Rome, where various methods to produce plans, elevations and photomosaics for quick assessments were tested and discussed.

The unit on condition assessment made use of the streets of Trastevere (a neighbourhood in Rome) as a frame to undertake a logical assessment of the structures. Using visual observation analysis, participants described materials, alteration, and decay effects. A second step consisted of defining conservation and research questions, deciding the various scientific analyses that would enable answering those questions, and defining a conservation strategy.

A special two-day study tour took place in Florence, where discussions were held on condition assessment and treatment of timber structures. The sessions focused on the construction techniques, conservation problems, and solutions used at the Dome of Santa Maria del Fiore and at the Palazzo Vecchio, among other examples.

The 21 participants are archaeologists, architects and managers coming from 20 different countries. They have not only had the opportunity to learn from the guest lecturers and resource persons invited to the course, but also to share their own experience from their home countries.

Member States represented: Austria, Botswana, China, Cuba, Egypt, Finland, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, Nepal, New Zealand, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Vietnam

updated on: 8 April, 2010